Before Your Love
by Leanna R
Summary: AU after the events of The Moth. Jack and Kate realize their undeniable attraction for each other after the first season cave in. Together, they deal with everything the island has to throw at them. It's all the Lost episodes, Jate style!
1. The Moth

**Before Your Love**

_A/N: Heysa! So, this is my second Lost story, and my first Jate story (I wrote a Skate two shot too). I'm split between which I like better, Jate or Skate, but I promise everyone that this story is **100 Jate**, all the way through. I hope you like it and don't forget to review!_

_Basically, Jack and Kate get together in _The Moth _and I'm going to go through each episode, rewriting it as though the two of them are together._

_Disclaimer: I own only the premise; the characters, settings, and all that other good stuff belong to… ABC? The producers? Who really knows, but it's not mine._

_The title was borrowed from the Kelly Clarkson song of the same name._

_All transcripts come from Anthology_.

_Summary: Goes AU after the events of _The Moth_. What if Jack and Kate became a couple early in the first season? I'm basically rewriting the show with each episode being the same, except now the two are a couple. Jate, with some Shayid, CC, and the rest of the usual couples._

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Moth**

She couldn't believe it. He had been trapped in a cave with a little oxygen, no food and no water. And Sawyer just wasn't going to say anything to her. Kate couldn't stop digging. She didn't care how much her fingers hurt or how dirty she was. He needed to be ok. He just needed to be. Michael looked up and walked over to Kate tentatively. He could sense her fear and anxiety, and he knew that the way she was worrying about Jack was the way that a woman worries about a man who is more than just a friend.

"Hey, Kate, you need to take a break" he said softly, trying to be understanding while still worried about her.

Kate just rubbed her nose and pushed her hair back off of her face, the sweat dripping down on her. But she didn't care. She just needed to get Jack out of there. Her heart had dropped down to her feet and she was feeling sick to her stomach. She brushed Michael off and told him she was fine, but he persisted.

"We got enough people to dig. You keep going at this pace, you're gonna kill yourself" he told her, climbing closer to her.

She ignored him, instead conintuing to dig out the tunnel, blocking out the world around her. All she could focus on was getting Jack out of the cave and to safety. She needed to get a chance to tell him how she really felt. About him and about everything.

Kate was still digging on autopilot when she heard Walt yell out. It took a second for her to distinguish what the boy said, but then she realized that he had referred to the doctor. Her head shot up and tears sprung to her eyes. There was Jack, walking back to the caves, looking beaten, broken and dirty, but alive. That was all that mattered. She flung herself off the rocks and into his arms, not even taking the time to notice Charlie who was walking beside him. She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back for a second before wincing in pain. She pulled back with a look of confusion on her face.

"My shoulder" he clarified with a taut face and Kate's heart shattered.

She hated that he was hurt. She couldn't stomach the fact that Jack, her savior, the only good man left in the world, was in pain. She gave him a sympathetic look and gently touched his arm, peering closely at his shoulder.

"I'll be ok" he whispered with a smile before announcing to everyone how Charlie had saved him.

* * *

While Jack and Charlie went to clean up and everyone else went about their business, Kate hurried back to the beach and dug through the piles of clothing. Finding a large t-shirt, she grabbed her pocket knife and started to work. Satisfied with the creation that she had made, she headed back to the caves, arriving at nightfall. She saw Jack sitting by the fire with Charlie. She couldn't help but smile at how chiseled his features looked by the light of the flames. After Charlie left, he seemed deep in thought and she sighed as she thought about how much stress her poor doctor was under. Gathering her courage without ever realizing she had lost it, she walked over to him and draped her t-shirt creation over his neck with a smile. He chuckled and smiled back at her as he adjusted it, and her face lit up. She had just received a rare smile from Dr. Jack Shepard, a priceless gift if you asked her. 

"Made you something" she said flirtatiously, her smile still on her face.

Carefully reaching down as to not hurt him, she tucked his arm into the hole of the t-shirt, being gentle and caring as she did so. From the look on his face she was able to tell that he was not used to being the one taken care of. He felt the need to always be the one taking care of others.

"Ah, my very first sling" he said, flirting right back at her.

"How's that?" she asked, still with the bright smile on her face.

"Good. Thank you" he said with a nod, and Kate took it as invitation to sit down.

She couldn't drag herself away from him. Suddenly the fear she felt when she found out he was trapped in the caves returned. She swallowed hard and tried to keep the lightness of the conversation up.

"So these are the safe caves you've been going on about" she said with a teasing smirk.

"This was a fluke. Michael checked out the integrity of the rest of the caves, gave them an okay" he said somewhat bitterly, and she felt bad that she had even teased him about it. "So you're headed back to the beach, huh?" he asked, letting the bitterness go and instead focusing on the beautiful girl in front of him.

"Sayid should be back there by now, and if his plan worked – "she started.

"Then we're one step closer to getting off this island" Jack finished, and Kate couldn't help the feeling of glee that invaded her when she realized that they were able to finish each others sentences.

She felt like a teenage girl again, and she slowly looked up at the handsome doctor. Their eyes met and then they both looked down again. Kate was torn. The island had Jack while the real world had prison. But she knew she couldn't stay on this island forever.

"Thanks for the sling, Kate" he said, breaking her thoughts.

"You're welcome" she told him, looking back down. "I guess I should get going" she said as she started to stand up.

"Wait a minute" he said quietly, taking her hand with his good arm and gently pulling her back down. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I should be asking you that" she responded.

"You just seem quiet"

"Are you implying that I'm usually a loudmouth?" she teased.

"No…not at all…I just meant… I didn't mean to offend you" he stammered.

"Jack, I'm just kidding" she said with a grin.

"Oh" he said, his cheeks reddening as he looked down.

"I was really worried about you today though" she said, suddenly serious again. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you" she admitted.

"You would learn to use peroxide and how to take care of skinned knees" he said with a hint of a smile.

She tried to smile back, but it was to no avail.

"I'm serious Jack. I know we haven't known each other for that long, but I feel connected to you. I feel like we get each other".

She paused and they were both silent. "I'm sorry, that was probably out of line" she said and she started to get up again.

"No, wait" he called out, taking her hand and once again gently pulling her back down.

They stared at each other for a moment before they slowly started leaning in to one another. After a moment, their lips met and Jack captured her mouth in a passionate but gentle kiss. He reached up with his good arm to run his fingers through her hair and pull her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, lost in the feeling of his body and his mouth. They both reluctantly pulled away, needing air, but neither could stop the smiles on their faces.

"What was that for?" she asked, unable to hide her happiness.

"I just feel like we get each other too" he said before leaning in for another kiss.

* * *

A/N: Remember, I like reviews and they make me write faster! 

Next Chapter: _Confidence Man_- How will Kate react when Sawyer wants a kiss in exchange for the inhalers? More importantly, what's Jack going to think? Or do?


	2. Confidence Man

A/N: This is officially the longest chapter I have ever written. It was 12 pages on Word! I didn't realize there was so much in the episode. In the future, I may break up longer episodes in to two parts, just because it gets overwhelming to write/read. This one I kept together though so everyone could have lots of Jatey gooey goodness.

g3i0a4- Aww, thanks for being my first reviewer on this story. Jealous Jack is the best Jack, I agree.

Guppy3- Thanks for your sweet comments. I love AU stories too. The episodes will pretty much be the same, with a few changes, and I hope I can keep your attention.

rlmont91- Thanks for the review!

Ella Jullian- I love the Moth too, and it gets looked over so much. When Kate ran into Jack's arms after he gets out of the caves, I really started to think of them as a cute couple.

Strizzy- Thanks for reviewing!

babes- Thanks so much. I wanted to find an original idea and really start a brand new story.

AnnPatrick- This chapter is chock full of Jate. They will get slightly mushier as their relationship progresses, but they'll still be themselves, filled with doubt and insecurities. But it's why we love them so very much!

irenaki88- Thanks for the review!

yellosh- Aww, thank you. That's the thing that annoys me the most about _Lost-_ they start all these great scenes and never finish them (such as the fire scene). It's part of what inspired me to write this story.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Confidence Man**

He didn't know how he did it, but Jack managed to convince Kate to spend the night with him at the caves.

"Just tonight Jack" she had warned, but Jack wasn't sure how seriously to take what she was saying.

They spent the night lying in each others arms, simply talking. Although it was tempting to go farther, the two didn't want to rush their relationship. Kate finally got to open up to Jack, yet she still refused to tell him what she did that was so terrible and he felt no need to push her. He was desperate for his relationship with Kate to work out and he didn't want to pressure her at all. He knew that he had the tendency to get jealous and somewhat possessive, but he vowed to try to remain calm and collected with Kate. Yet he knew this would be a problem with Sawyer around. Sawyer's attraction to Kate was obvious and Jack knew that his new girlfriend would remain friends with the wanna-be cowboy. Jack understood that he would have to be really, really patient. After all, their relationship was still somewhat of a secret. No one had really seen their kiss at the fireside the night before and although they weren't planning on hiding, they decided to let everything come out in time. They weren't going to put an announcement in the Island Herald.

Kate stirred in Jack's arms and he shifted a little so that he could look her.

"Good morning" he said with a smile as he bent down to kiss her.

"Morning" she said sleepily, a lazy smile gracing her own features.

"Sleep well?" he asked her.

"Definitely" she told him. "It was the best sleep that I've had in a very long time"

"Me too" he said with a chuckle as he kissed her again.

"I really should get up and be productive though" she said, her eyes darting towards the entrance of the caves.

"You think your leaving that easy?" he teased her.

"Hmm? I dunno. What's here to stop me?" she teased back.

Jack leaned down and kissed her passionately, and in less than a second Kate forgot all about being productive.

* * *

After a while, the two eventually got up and Jack went to go talk to Michael and try to sort out the cave situation. Kate helped him to put on his new sling, gave him one last kiss goodbye, and headed back to the beach, stopping to pick some bananas on the way to replenish the food supply. As she walked back along the shore, the bananas over her shoulder, she noticed a small rectangular object in the sand. Squinting to get a better look, she headed over to it and saw that it was in fact a book, and it was resting on top of some clothes. She put down the bananas and peered at the clothes, seeing that it was a pair of jeans, a shirt, boots, and some cigarettes. She automatically knew who it belonged to. Still, she picked up the book and stared at the cover of "Watership Down". 

"Hell of a book" a voice said with a thick southern drawl and she turned around to look at who was speaking to her.

She saw Sawyer standing in the ocean and grinning at her. He walked back to the shore and Kate averted her eyes from Sawyer's near naked form. After all, she had seen Jack's bare chest the night before as they slept together and that was all she needed from now on. She dropped the book back on to the pile of his things and awkwardly shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"It's about bunnies" he continued, either ignoring her discomfort or simply not noticing it in the first place. "Didn't see you come back to the beach last night" he commented offhandedly.

"It was late and dark; I just stayed at the caves instead of walking through the jungle. Must be cold without your trunks" she said, trying to hint to him that she didn't need to see what she was sure was his naked ass (although she was very careful to actually avoid looking. She wouldn't even visually cheat on Jack).

"You bet. How about you come a little closer and warm me up?" he asked with a sleazy smile.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel special, Sawyer" she said in a disgusted tone with a role of her eyes.

She gathered the bananas back up and slung them over her shoulder once again before walking away, leaving him to his own thoughts of the past.

* * *

"This is gonna hurt" Jack told Sayid back at the caves. 

His friend had come to him with a head wound and he was trying his hardest to gently tend to it. Sayid groaned but Jack kept dabbing at the wound with the peroxide soaked cloth, knowing how important it was that it didn't get infected.

"Ready to tell me what happened?" he asked, his curiosity and concern melding in to one.

"We were trying to find the source of the distress call. I saw the flare from the beach, and then the flare from Sawyer's position in the jungle. I switched on my antenna, activated the transceiver, and then ... darkness. Whoever hit me came from behind"

"They destroyed the equipment?" he asked, secretly glad that Kate had left the operation to come help dig him out; he didn't even want to think about how he'd feel if she had been the one who was knocked out.

"Yes" Sayid said with a nod and Jack sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face.

"Listen, we're gonna figure this out, but don't do any…"

"I will do what I need to do to find the man responsible" Sayid interrupted, and Jack sighed again with stress.

Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a struggle in the bushes and they heard a girl's voice cry out.

"We need some help over here!" the girl cried as she helped someone else to the caves.

Jack recognized the bloody man to be Boone, the one who had tried to help him perform a tracheotomy their first day on the island. Sayid recognized the girl to be Shannon, the blonde who had been able to translate the French signal. Both men hurried over to take Boone from Shannon and help him to the caves as the man gasped in pain.

"What happened?" Jack asked, slightly exasperated as he wondered how everyone was getting so hurt lately.

"Sawyer" said Boone simply and Jack turned to look at Sayid, sharing a look with him that said 'big surprise there'.

Jack grabbed a clean cloth and dipped it in the bowl of water next to him before grabbing the peroxide again. He started dabbing at the cut on Boone's temple, but he pulled away.

"Ahh, Jack, its fine. It's just a scrape" he cried out, grabbing the doctor's arm and lightly pushing him back.

"Yeah? Lots of scrapes today. I'm running out of peroxide" he grumbled, wishing he could have convinced Kate to have an unproductive day so that he could still be lying there with her in his arms, stress free and completely content.

"He just jumped me, man" Boone explained as Jack grabbed another bottle of peroxide and tended to the other cuts.

"Why?" he asked.

"Shannon has asthma" Boone explained after glancing at his sister.

"Asthma?" Jack asked, wondering if Mad Cow Disease and the Avian Flu were going to be next to strike the island.

How much peroxide would either of those require?

"Never seen her have an attack before" he commented after Boone confirmed Jack's question.

"Because she had an inhaler. She sneaks hits when no one's looking. She's just been embarrassed about it since she was a little kid. I guess breathing's not cool"

"_Had_ an inhaler?" he asked, choosing to ignore the snide remark in there and focus instead on the use of the past tense.

"It ran out a couple days ago. But it had four refills, which should have been enough for a couple months. But she always forgets her medication, so I put it in my suitcase. Today I see that jackass reading _Watership Down_…" Boone continued

"You're losing me" Jack said, rubbing his temples at the start of an unwanted headache.

"It was in my bags-the stuff that I checked. If he has my book, he has my luggage. If he has the luggage, he has the inhalers. Her breathing got really rough today, man. If she has an attack, it's not gonna be good"

Jack let out a sigh of frustration as Sayid glanced nervously at the girl. She really was beautiful. There was something about the way she was twirling her long blonde hair that made her seem so innocent and vulnerable. He shook his head and willed himself to stop thinking like that. She was going through a health crisis right now- she needed help, not an opportunity to test her flirting skills. Besides, what chance did he stand with her and her long legs? Jack let out a growl before storming off to the beach, his frustrations taking over. He was going to solve this problem, go find Kate, and just let her make his day better like only she could.

* * *

Jack stormed into Sawyer's tent, ignoring the man who was sitting in the airplane seat and staring quizzically at him. He pulled the place apart, going through suitcases and throwing things aside. 

"Where is it?" he growled, moving on to another suitcase.

"Hey, Doc. Long time, no see" Sawyer snarled.

"Where is it?" Jack demanded once more, getting angrier by the minute.

"Where's what?" Sawyer asked in a bored tone.

"The girl's asthma medicine. Shannon. Her inhalers" he snapped.

"Oh, that" Sawyer said blandly.

"You attacked a kid for trying to help his sick sister" Jack accused, disgusted with the man in front of him.

"No, I whooped a thief 'cause he was going through my stuff" Sawyer maintained, and Jack really lost it.

"Yours?!" he yelled, unable to control his anger any longer. "What makes it yours?!"

"…Which I had to move because everybody wants to help themselves" Sawyer kept saying, ignoring Jack.

"You can just take something out of a suitcase, and that makes it yours?" he demanded.

"Look, I don't know want kind of commie share-fest you're running over in cave town, but down here possession's nine-tenths and a man's got a right to protect his property" snarked Sawyer.

But enough was enough for Jack.

"Get up!" he demanded.

"Why, you wanna see who's taller?" Sawyer sneered.

"Get up!" Jack yelled again.

"Sure you want to make this your problem, Doc?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure" Jack said, knowing that he had to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, especially from the guy who lusted after his girl.

Sawyer finally stood up and the two stared off for a second before they were interrupted.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Kate asked as she entered the tent.

She had seen Jack coming down to the beach, but his hard stance and angry strides kept her away from him. She watched him enter the tent and heard everything he yelled at Sawyer, but when he demanded that he get up, Kate knew she had to intervene before a fight broke out. Jack's shoulder was still healing and he didn't need anything to irritate it.

The two men exchanged looks before Jack stormed off without a word. Kate glared at Sawyer before following Jack out of the tent, her heart hurting as she realized how much stress he was under.

Kate followed him to a clearing in the jungle where he finally stopped and let out a frustrated growl.

"That's not gonna help us get the medicine" she said with a soft smile, referring to Jack's flexing fist that seemed to be aching to hit a certain someone.

He turned to face her and said "Maybe not, but it'll feel good"

"So what's stopping you?" she asked

"We're not savages, Kate. Not yet."

Kate took a step closer to him and he opened up his arms. She gracefully fell into him, resting her head on his chest and sighing lightly. Jack instantly felt better with her in his arms and he tightened his grasp on her, burying his head in her hair. Her slender fingers started to massage his back as she remained in his embrace and he let out another sigh, this one filled with much less rage. She always did manage to make him feel better. He kissed her forehead and her bare shoulder, relaxing a little. However, he stiffened again with her next words.

"Let me talk to Sawyer" she whispered.

Jack pulled back from the hug and stared at her. Was she crazy? He didn't want her any where near that man.

"What makes you think he's gonna listen to you?"

"He says we have a connection" she said as she stepped back closer to him and gently caressed his face, soothing her fingers over the tired crinkles around his eyes.

"Do you?" Jack asked as the bottom dropped out of his stomach in preparation for her answer.

"Please" she said with a roll of her eyes. "_We_ get each other, remember? Not me and him" she assured her boyfriend with a smile.

She stepped even closer and wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed his lips.

"Hey, come back" he complained as she pulled her lips away from his after only a brief moment.

"Not until you tell me why you're not wearing your sling" she demanded.

Jack blushed a little and tried stammering out a good excuse, saying something about it being too hard to work, but she just gave him a bemused smile and nodded her head before kissing him again.

* * *

Kate walked back into another clearing in the jungle after reluctantly leaving Jack and she saw Sawyer chopping wood. All of her anger at the man for not telling her about Jack yesterday and for causing him so much stress today boiled at her surface. 

"What do you want?" she growled.

"Excuse me?"

"What do you want, Sawyer?"

"Freckles, I got so many answers to that question, I wouldn't even know where to start."

"What do you want for the inhalers?" she asked, trying to keep her anger in check.

"Ah. Good question. Hang on a tick" he said, swinging the axe one more time. "What do I want? A kiss ought to do it."

"What?" she asked, trying to hide her disgust.

"A kiss. From you, right now"

"I don't buy it" She told him with a shake of her head.

"Buy what?" he asked as he went back to chopping wood.

"The act. You try too hard, Sawyer. I ask you to help a woman who can't breathe, and you want me to kiss you? Nobody's that disgusting. I've seen you, you know."

"Seen me what?" he asked as he visibly hesitated before bring the axe down hard again.

Kate told him about the piece of paper and he made her read the letter. Shaking, Kate ran off, hoping to find Jack and a little comfort after her confrontation with Sawyer. She wasn't sure why she got involved anyway and she wasn't sure how Sawyer could make her feel so cheap so easily. It was never like that with Jack. Jack made her feel like a million dollars. And right now, she just wanted to be in his arms again and know that everything would be alright.

* * *

By the time Kate made it back the caves, it was nightfall and Shannon's gasps for air could be heard from far away. The girl was sitting around the fire with some of the other castaways, coughing and struggling to catch her breath as her brother held her hand. Kate looked for Jack and saw him panicking, going hastily through all of the medications he had, desperate for anything that would help. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and their eyes met before he went back to his search. Kate sighed at the pain she saw in his eyes before helping him by clearing off all the bottles that he had tossed to the side. 

Suddenly, everyone looked up as Sawyer entered the caves, an empty water bottle in his hand. Kate gently said Jack's name and he looked as well before getting up and heading over to Sawyer, his face red with anger and frustration.

"Give me the inhalers… now" he demanded, his fists clenched tightly.

"Hell, I wondered when you were gonna stop asking nice" Sawyer goaded him.

Sawyer lifted his cup to take a sip of the water, but Jack punched him in the face, knocking it out of his hand. Kate gasped and her hand covered her mouth, and she suddenly became concerned as Jack moaned and rubbed at his injured shoulder. She took a step towards them as Jack ignored his pain and towered over Sawyer who finally gotten up.

"Well, it's about time, Cowboy. I've been telling you since day one we're in the wild. Didn't think you had it in you" Sawyer taunted.

Jack punched Sawyer again, knocking him to ground. Kate gasped again as she looked at Sawyer's bleeding mouth. She felt no sympathy for the man, only concern for Jack. She knew he didn't want it to get that far, and she also knew his arm was hurting.

"That all you got?" asked Sawyer as he stood up.

"Jack, come on" said Kate softly, walking over to him and taking his hand, gently pulling him away. "Is your arm ok?" she asked in concern as she massaged his shoulder.

"I'll be fine" he told her pulling her into an embrace and lightly kissing the top of her head.

"What's this?" snarled Sawyer. "Doc and Freckles?"

"Shut up Sawyer" she snapped at him. "We should take care of your hand" she said to Jack, lightly trailing her finger over his bloodied knuckles.

"Yeah" he said, kissing her full out on the mouth, forgetting that everyone else was even there.

Sawyer watched the exchange before stomping off and leaving them be. The night was still long for Jack and Kate though. Jack was up most of the night with Shannon, trying to get her to breathe, and Kate wasn't going to sleep without him, especially during all of this turmoil. She watched in wonder as Jack calmed Shannon down and she caught her breath again.

'He's going to make a great father some day' she thought before pushing it from her head, not even sure why she was thinking about that anyway.

She watched as Hurley complimented Jack but he just brushed the other man off, storming off into the jungle. She called after him but he either ignored her or didn't even hear her.

Kate exchanged a look with Sayid who immediately followed after Jack. Sayid had been watching Shannon intently. He was furious with Sawyer. He already suspected that the man had been the one to knock him out, but he knew that he was the one hurting this poor, innocent girl. Shannon certainly didn't deserve this, and Sayid knew that he had to help her in whatever way that he could. He didn't care what it entailed; he felt a fierce need to protect this girl that he had hardly even said a word to. Their eyes met for a second but the contact was broken when Kate called his name. He nodded at her, shared one last meaningful look with Shannon, and then followed Jack into the jungle, ready to propose to Jack his final and possibly horrifying idea to get Sawyer to talk.

After giving the two some time alone, Kate followed after them. Their trail led her straight to the beach, and she arrived just in time to see her boyfriend and Sayid dragging an unconscious Sawyer by his arms. She cursed under her breath, frightened that Jack was about to do something he would forever regret.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice laced with the fear she was feeling.

They ignored her and Kate couldn't help but visibly wince as Jack paid her no heed. Sayid and Jack continued to drag Sawyer in to the jungle. Exasperated, Kate yelled out to Jack once more.

"This was Sawyer's choice, not mine" he growled at her, much more harshly than he intended.

"If you do this ..." she started, but they kept dragging Sawyer away, ignoring her.

As Sayid tied Sawyer to the tree, Jack pondered Kate's words. What did she mean? If he did this, would she break up with him? Or did she just mean that he'd regret it? He didn't want to do anything to lose Kate, especially not after he finally just got her. But he couldn't let a girl die because of Sawyer either.

He let Sayid do what he had to, watching the whole time, trying to control the lump in his throat as he thought about Kate. He stepped in a few times, trying to get Sayid to ease up, reminding him that they just wanted Sawyer to talk and they didn't want to kill him. Finally, Sawyer caved, saying he'd only talk to Kate though. Jack pushed his jealousy down and went to get her while Sayid stayed with their prisoner to watch that he didn't escape.

Jack found Kate standing just near the spot that they had Sawyer.

"Have you been listening?" he asked her softly.

"How could I not?" she asked. "You could hear his screams from a mile away" she told him, unshed tears in her eyes.

Jack's heart was breaking. Did Kate feel something for Sawyer? He took a step towards her and put his hand on her arm but she jerked away from him. His heart shattered at this, he couldn't believe he disgusted her that much.

"Kate, I'm sorry. I can't let Shannon die though"  
"There are other ways" she exclaimed angrily.

"Not with him there aren't. Please don't hate me" he begged. "I couldn't take it if you hated me. I'm just trying to do what's right for everyone. Everyone just expects me to know what to do and I don't know Kate. I don't know what to do at all. I didn't sign up for this job, it was thrust on to me" he told her emotionally.

"I know baby, I could never hate you, I'm sorry" she whispered, suddenly wrapping her arms around him and smiling when a relieved Jack hugged her back. "I know how much stress you're under and I didn't mean to make it worse. I just worry about you so much. I don't want you to do something you'll regret"

"I know, and I'm trying hard not to, I swear. Besides, I think Sawyers ready to talk"

"That's good" she said with a smile as she slowly pulled out of his embrace to look in his eyes.

"The only thing is… he'll only talk to you. Why's that?" asked Jack

Kate's eyes darkened as she pulled away from him completely. She turned her back to him, composed herself, and turned to face him again.

"Sawyer wants one thing from me in exchange for those inhalers" she told her waiting boyfriend.

"What's that?" asked Jack, dreading the worst.

"A kiss" she said, a frown on her face.

"WHAT!?" he asked, unsuccessfully trying to not blow up.

"Jack, calm down" she said, holding her hands up in a defensive position.

"This is calm for me!" he yelled back, but when she gave him a pointed look he calmed down a little and grumbled out a sorry.

"Obviously, I'm not going to make out with him" she said.

Jack really calmed down at this. He began to feel embarrassed as he realized it was never an option for her. He never once thought that she would do everything possible not to hurt him. He had been burned so many times before and he just automatically assumed that Kate would be the same. But she wasn't. She was so different, and so perfect, and he instantly regretted losing it on her.

"I'm sorry I yelled" he apologized. "You have to understand, I'm new at this whole healthy relationship thing"

"Me too. Don't worry. And don't be sorry. I would have done the same" she told him with a light peck on his lips. "You're the only one that I ever want to kiss"

"And you're the only one _I_ ever want to kiss" he told her back.

"Sooo, what do we do about Sawyer?" she asked. "Just keep letting Sayid torture him?"

"No, that won't work. I have a feeling Sawyer will let Sayid chop him up into a million little pieces before telling us where they inhalers are. I'm thinking the only way to find out is for you to give him that kiss."

"You can't be serious" she said, her jaw dropping.

"Trust me; I'm not happy about it. But I'm not going to make you kiss him. I'm just leaving it up to you to decide what to do. I don't want him touching you, I really don't. But I don't want Shannon to die either"

"I know; I feel the same way" said Kate with a sigh.

She looked at Jack. He looked like someone had just run over his puppy. His heart was shattering over the fact that he had to let his girlfriend kiss another man. Jack wanted to snatch Kate up and pull her away from there and forget about Sawyer, and Shannon, and Sayid. But his responsibilities came first and he knew he couldn't. Kate walked over to him and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. She pulled him into a deep, long lasting kiss, and the two kissed one another until their lips were red and swollen.

"Only you" she whispered as she walked away, leaving Jack with her taste and the feel of her skin.

* * *

She entered the clearing where Sawyer and Sayid were with the feeling of Jack's eyes boring into her back. She knew how much he was hurting and she just wanted to take away his pain. She just wanted to get this over with. She nodded to Sayid and he left them alone, going, she was assuming, to stand with Jack. Hopefully he could keep him calm. Kate just crossed her fingers that Sawyer would be willing to just give up the information and tell them where the inhalers were without anything in return. 

"So, I'm here. Where is it?" she asked him crossly

"Happy to tell you as soon as I get that kiss" he said, panting from the pain.

"What? Are you serious?" she asked halfheartedly.

"Baby, I am tied to a tree in the Jungle of Mystery. I just got tortured by a damn spinal surgeon and a genuine Iraqi. Of course I'm serious. You're just not seeing the big picture here, Freckles. Are you really gonna let that girl suffocate 'cause you can't bring yourself to give me one little kiss? Hell, it's only first base. Lucky for you, I ain't greedy. Jackass won't mind too much, I mean, now that you two are married and what not"

Kate swallowed hard and looked once more at him. She knew she had to do it to save Shannon's life. She nodded her head, unable to even speak, and kneeled down on the floor in front of him. He closed his eyes and she closed hers as she leaned in. Their lips were inches apart when the sudden image of Jack invaded her mind. Kate and Sawyer were moving closer and closer together but the image of a heartbroken Jack wouldn't get out of Kate's head.

"I…I…I can't" she whispered, hanging her head and pulling away. "I can't. Please Sawyer, please don't make me do this" she begged.

He was a quiet for a moment before looking up at her. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears that were clinging to her lashes, making her eyes look even bigger, and her cheeks were flushed with shame and fright.

"I don't have it" he mumbled under his breath.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"The medicine. I don't have it. I never did" he said, looking down to avoid her eyes.

"The book…they said you found it in their luggage..."

"Book washed up on shore. It went in the drink with the rest of…"

Suddenly, Kate pulled her fist back and punched him right in the face. He cried out but she ignored him and jumped up, leaving him to his misery. He had put her and Jack and the rest of the survivors through so much. She was just glad she didn't kiss him. But she was still furious that Jack had to be unsure and stuck thinking about what she and Sawyer were doing at that moment for absolutely no reason.

* * *

She ran from the clearing back into the jungle where Jack and Sayid were waiting. She flung herself into Jack's arms like she had done yesterday, this time more careful of his shoulder. 

"I didn't kiss him" she told Jack as the two love birds wrapped themselves in one another. "And he doesn't have the medicine. He told me" she said with a sigh as Jack breathed a contented breath beside her, his heart repairing itself and his stomach losing the sick and twisted feeling.

"He's lying. Can't you see that? He's been lying from the beginning. He doesn't want us to get off this island. That's why he attacked me!" yelled Sayid.

"Hold on a minute, man" Jack said, trying to calm him down.

"He destroyed the transceiver!" Sayid shouted as he started storming off towards Sawyer.

"You don't know that!" Jack yelled after him as he grabbed Kate's hand and the two ran after him to try and stop him, yelling his name as they did so.

Sawyer had undone his bounds already as Sayid ran over to him and Sawyer pounced on his assailant. The two rolled around on the floor for a bit, trying to get a punch in, while Kate and Jack yelled for them to stop. Finally, Sayid rolled over on Sawyer and all the sudden he screamed out in pain. Sayid got up, a look of horror on his face as he stared at the knife he had just imbedded in Sawyer's arm. Kate gasped in shock as Jack dropped her hand and kneeled in front of Sawyer in doctor mode. Jack pulled out the knife and blood began spurting, getting even on Kate who was still gaping in shock. Jack immediately put pressure on it and told Sayid to get his bag from the caves. He had hit an artery. He and Kate tried to help him while they waited, Kate holding him down and Jack putting pressure on the wound. Sawyer's eyes closed and then opened again.

"Let go. I know you want to" he croaked out.

"Shut up, and stop moving" Jack demanded.

"You've been waiting for this, haven't you? Now you get to be a hero again, 'cause that's what you do. You fix everything up all nice" he snarled. Turning to Kate, he said "time to let go, Freckles. You're not going to make out with me, we all know that. What else I got to live for? Hey, Jack, there's something you should know. If the tables were turned ... I'd watch you die" he sneered and Kate couldn't help the involuntary shiver that ran up her spine.

She didn't want to ever think about Jack being in this position. Finally, Sawyer lost consciousness and Sayid returned with the bag. Sayid held Sawyer down as Jack worked, and Kate just sat off to the side, trying to catch her breath and count to 5.

Kate sat with Sawyer until he woke up, pouring over his letter and coming to a few realizations. After he woke up and they spoke, she fled from his tent and his anger. But she knew that he was angry at himself, not her. She returned to the caves to find a much happier Jack.

"Eucalyptus!" he cried out when he saw her, a big smile on his face.

"Umm? Bless you?" she tried.

"No" he said with a laugh. "Eucalyptus works to treat asthma. Sun was able to find some and now Shannon's going to be ok"

"That's great!" said Kate with a smile as she kissed him, his happy mood matching her own. "Does this mean Dr. Jack gets to leave the office for the day?"

"Looks like it" said Jack with a flirtatious smile.

He grabbed her up suddenly, holding her in his arms like she were a baby.

"Jack, put me down, you're going to hurt yourself" she exclaimed with a laugh.

"You weigh less than a mango. Don't worry so much" he said as he carried her back to the caves, depositing her softly on the ground. "I've been waiting to make out with you all day"

"Funny, I've been doing the same" she said with a smile and the two leaned in and began to kiss.

"I'm glad you didn't have to kiss him" Jack whispered after a while.

"Me too" she whispered back.

"Is it wrong that I think he got what he deserved?"

"I don't know" she said with a sigh. "On the one hand, he does deserve it. He was a jerk, and a life hung in the balance. On the other hand, he's been through a lot Jack, and he's in this self-deprecating worthless place. He feels like there's no point in him living. I feel bad for him. He tries, but it's hard for him" she explained.

"That's my Katie, compassion for everyone" he said as he nuzzled her neck.

"You never call me Katie" she said with a smile.

He just continued to kiss her neck and she kept smiling.

"I'm just jealous of him I guess" said Jack as he continued his possessive kisses. "I don't want him looking at you"

"He's going to look Jack. But as long as I have you, I don't need or want anyone or anything else" she told him as the two fell back on to the airplane seat in the cave, trailing kisses on any available skin that the other had.

The next morning, Kate returned to the beach in time to see Charlie packing up Claire's stuff as she ate the air out of an empty jar, and Sayid and his backpack leaving a footprint trail in the sand as he left the remaining survivors behind.

* * *

A/N: And that's Confidence Man. I was torn over whether or not Kate and Sawyer should in fact kiss, but I decided it would be better if they didn't. 

Next chapter: Solitary

This is a Sayid one, and the only real Jack/Kate action is at the golf course that Hurley builds. So the chapter will be slightly shorter and much fluffier. I'll probably add some extra fluff scenes as well. Also look for a confrontation between Jack and Sawyer, and some playful Jack.

Remember, I love reviews!


	3. Solitary

A/N: Hi! I'm still alive. And I'm sooooo unbelievably sorry that this took so long to post. I've been massive amounts of sick all month (technically, its February now, so I guess all last month). I've had some sort of weird virus/not quite pneumonia thing that I'm convinced is related to that disease from Outbreak, though my doctor didn't quite agree with me. I tend to be a melodramatic patient. But anyway, I'm beginning to feel better. Of course, the best medicine is plenty of reviews! And of course, the return of Lost next Wednesday. Until then, may this tide you over…

This chapter doesn't sway too much from the script, but next chapter I add my own things and after that it gets much more angsty. The next two chapters are kinda fluffy though.

VilePaper- thanks, that was a very sweet review and it was very helpful. I actually am trying to sway a little more from the script and actual events of each episode but it gets more natural to do in some of the upcoming episodes. These few episodes just set up all of these Jate moments that I needed to take advantage of but some episodes later on have no Jate whatsoever, so those will be all me.

Andrea35- I love using the word delicious too! Lol. I'm still trying to decide what to do about Shannon. She's my favorite character on the show (I think she's the most real, let's face it, she did what everyone would do after a plane crash. I don't think I could do like the others and start hunting and searching for cockpits and what not). I still need to think about that one. Luckily, I have time. Thanks for reviewing!

jate4me- Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

g3i0a4- I promise the angst is coming. This chapter and the next chapter are fluffier but after that its chock full of angst. I prefer angst too; I just need time to get them there.

Ella Jullian- Thanks for the review! It was a hard choice, but I figured a Skate kiss just didn't fit in.

Strizzy- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it and it means a lot that you took the time to let me know!

AnnPatrick- Yeah, I didn't want a floppity Kate. This story is purely Jate, I hate when Skate and Jate are mixed together, it gets me all confused. Thanks for your kind words!

ravensfan52- Thanks for your review! Sawyer will go back and forth between being an ass and being a sweetie, just like on the show. But there's a little Sawyer redemption later on in this chapter, don't you worry!

Hellmouth20- I completely agree. Those producers just want to leave us all bald after all that hair tugging. It drives me crazy when you can cut the sexual tension on your television with a knife! Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 3- Solitary**

'Hippocratic Oath, Hippocratic oath' Jack kept repeating in his mind.

He looked down at his patient. Sawyer. The man who tried to steal a make out session from his girlfriend. The man who near killed a girl because he felt the need to withhold information. The man who did nothing for the rest of the group.

'Hippocratic oath, Hippocratic oath' he repeated again.

Still, oath or no oath, he ripped the bandage off of Sawyer's arms a little harder than he should have.

"Ow! Easy, Jackass" Sawyer snapped.

"You want it easy, quit moaning. I got to change these bandages" he said with a hint of a smirk.

"Yeah, well, try not taking my skin off with them" Sawyer grumbled. "How'd I score the house call, Dr. Quinn? Trying to ease your conscience?"

"My conscience is fine, thanks" said Jack with a roll of his eyes.

"Of course, what have you got to feel guilty about? I mean, you just let that damn Arab torture me. Stood by and watched. Now you figure you'll patch me up and buy you a ticket into heaven? Only reason you're here…"

"I'm here because no one else wants anything to do with you!" Jack snapped, quickly losing his patience with Sawyer.

Sawyer was silent for a moment before a malicious smirk settled on his face.

"She does" he said in a pointed tone, his eyes narrowing.

Deciding that he had heard enough comments from Sawyer today, particularly ones about Kate, Jack threw down the bandages and gathered his things.

"Change your own bandages" he said as he stood up and left Sawyer's tent, leaving him alone again.

Jack walked along the shore, his backpack on his back, lost in thought. When was Sawyer going to get it? Kate made her choice, and she chose him. Jack didn't want to spend the rest of his life fighting with the man. But he wasn't going to lose Kate either. He was falling hard for her and was getting more attached than he cared to be. When you get attached, people hurt you. He had learned that all of his life. But with Kate, he couldn't help but form that attachment. Nor could he bear to not form it either. He kept walking when he ran across the girl who was invading his thoughts. Kate was looking out at the ocean, her bare feet in the sand and her brown curls being whipped around by the wind. Jack put his backpack down and went to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. She was tense, but she automatically loosened up a bit when Jack held her.

"Looking for someone, or just admiring the view?" he asked softly in her ear

"It's been two days since Sayid took off on his own. I keep looking up thinking I'm gonna see him coming back" she said with a sigh.

"He'll come back when he's found what he's looking for… the French Transmission" Jack said, desperate to comfort his girlfriend although he knew what he was saying was a lie.

"He wasn't looking for anything. He left because of what happened, because of what he did" she told him.

"It was an accident" Jack maintained.

"Well, accidents happen when you torture people, Jack" she snapped.

"Sayid's a trained soldier, Kate. He can take care of himself" he said as he dropped his arms quickly from her waist, gave her a tense nod, and started to walk away.

"Wait! Come back, I'm sorry" she said, grabbing his hand.

Jack sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face but put his bag down again and rewrapped his arms around her thin frame.

"No, you had a point. But I did what I felt was necessary" he said to her as reached up and pushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"I know you don't like Sawyer, but I do know where he's coming from. We just need to give him a chance. And I know that you did what you felt was necessary and that you feel bad about it, and I'm sorry I said what I said" Kate apologized.

"Don't worry about it" he said as he cupped her face in his hand, tilted her head up, and kissed her gently on the lips.

"What are you up to for the rest of the day?" Kate asked in a sultry voice.

"I'll be back at the caves, I've got a slew of hypochondriacs coming in, plus I'm sure someone's going to wind up getting appendicitis today, or the bubonic plague, or something like that" he said sarcastically with a sigh.

"Just give 'em a band aid for the plague" said Kate with a smile. "Stay with me instead"

"I wish I could. You know that" he said, her smile catching on.

"I'll walk back to the caves with you; I need to refill some water bottles anyway"

"A walk in the jungle with you? Alone? How'd I get so lucky?" he teased.

"Hey, watch it" she said, lightly slapping his chest as he laughed and took her hand.

He waited for her to put her shoes back on before the two started on the trail through the jungle holding hands and smiling as a sulking Sawyer watched them walk away.

* * *

Kate looked up briefly when they heard someone yell "Ew! Get him out of there! He's drinking our water", and met Jack's glance as they both rolled their eyes. 

Kate was filling up the water bottles as Jack tended to Sullivan, one of the islands biggest hypochondriacs. Jack applied a poultice to his back as Sullivan whined. Hurley walked over with some food and handed a mango to Jack.

"What's going on out there?" Jack asked him, motioning with his head.

"Uh ... you know; the usual. People yelling at each other over nothing" said Hurley with a sigh.

There was peace in their little area for a second and Jack was able to watch Kate as she filled the bottles. He wanted to be able to throw her against the wall and have his way with her, but they both decided to take the relationship slowly. Besides, Hurley, Sun, and Sullivan were around, and he wasn't so sure if they'd appreciate it. Sensing that the doctor's attention was not on him anymore, Sullivan cleared his throat with an obnoxious cough.

"Doc, what do you think this is…this…this, uh, this rash? It's bad, right? Like some kind of a tropical disease?"

"It's hives" said Jack in a bored tone and Kate stifled a smirk.

"What's that? Is that like poison ivy?" asked the nervous man, ringing his hands.

"It's a common rash, sometimes brought on by heat and stress" said Jack as though he was a med school textbook.

"Okay" said Sullivan in an unsure voice.

"Just try to relax. It'll clear up" Jack assured him, trying to remind himself about the importance of bedside matter, even when your patient was a crazy guy who constantly had various inflections, most of which were all made up in his head.

"Right" said Sullivan as Jack got up.

"Try to keep your mind off it"

"Okay" said Sullivan as he too stood up.

Sun looked sympathetically at Jack and walked over to show Sullivan something that he could put on his back.

"What is that? Is that like aloe? Isn't that for sunburn or something?" Sullivan whined and even Sun rolled her eyes at the man.

"Thanks Sun" Jack thanked her and Sun left, as Sullivan trailed after her, whining about something.

"'Try to keep your mind off it'?" Hurley asked Jack incredulously. "What else has that guy got to do but stress?" he scoffed.

"I have enough on my plate without having to treat hypochondriacs" Jack said in a tense tone, and Kate walked over and put her hand on his back to calm him down before sitting next to him and taking his mango out of his hand to steal a bite.

"Yeah, well, that's like my point, man. We're all fried. I mean, have you taken a look at everybody out there? Everybody's way tense. Dude, I'm just saying, it'd be sweet if we could have ... I don't know, something to do" Hurley mused.

"We're surviving here, Hurley. And that's my main concern- keeping us alive. Things could be worse" Jack told him.

Hurley was quiet for moment, seemingly lost in thought.

"How?!" he asked, and Kate burst out laughing.

"Sorry" she said, still laughing, as Jack glared at her.

She kissed the tip of his nose as he still glared, and when that didn't work, she got up and left, still laughing, as Jack glared playfully after her.

* * *

Soon after Kate went back to the beach with the water and Hurley left on a mystery mission, Jack went for a walk and decided to collect some fire wood. But he needed some time to think as well. He just didn't know what to do. As the only doctor on this island, everyone came to him with all of their problems. He felt spread a little thin, and he knew he needed a break. He laughed a little. He never took breaks. Not even when he was in the real world, where things like sabbatical and paid vacations existed. At least he had Kate to keep him sane. She really was the light in all of the darkness. Without her, he definitely would have snapped and beat Sullivan to death already with a big stick. 

When Jack returned to the cave site, he saw Hurley still running around.

"Hurley, uh…" he started

"Hold on, man. I'm busy" Hurley said, brushing him off.

He walked past Jack and took a bamboo pole from Mike's arms.

"Hey…" Michael started.

"Hurley, what are you doing?" Jack asked him.

Hurley stopped by the cave doors and turned around, a possessed smile on his face. He pointed mischievously at Jack, chuckled deviously, and left. Jack and Michael shared a perplexed look, both confused.

"Don't look at me man" Michael said. "As far as I know, he either had a recent head injury or was bitten by a radioactive spider"

"Could happen on this island" Jack mumbled before walking away, still confused.

* * *

A few hours later, Michael was going over the plans for the caves with Jack, showing him his drawings. 

"See, this junction here… reroutes some of the spring's water flow into a couple of suspended basins. Pop in some holes, you got showers. This way you keep the drinking water separate" he explained.

"This is… you drew this?" he asked, clearly impressed.

I was an artist in a previous life" Mike said wistfully.

"I thought you were in construction" Jack commented.

"I am. I mean, you know, I was. Long story" said Michael, and Jack knew not to press.

"Hey, Jack!" yelled a voice, and they both turned around to see Charlie heading towards them. "Hurley's all worked up about something. Said we should come see it"

Charlie led them through the jungle to the valley. They saw Hurley standing there, a huge smile on his face.

"Welcome! ... to the first and ... hopefully, last ...Island Open!" exclaimed Hurley in an excited voice, his arms spread wide.

Jack looked past him and saw that he was standing in front of a bamboo pole with a strip of shirt used as a flag tied to the top of it. Two golf bags were next to him. The three newcomers stared at him, gaping. "What…?" started Jack.

"It's two holes for now, three par, and no waiting" Hurley explained.

"Hurley, you built a golf course?" Jack asked, still in shock.

"Rich idiots fly to tropical islands all the time to whack balls around!" Hurley said with a big smile.

"All the stuff we got to deal with, man, this is what you've been wasting your time on?" asked an exasperated Michael.

"Dudes, listen. Our lives suck. Everyone's nerves are stretched to the max. I mean, we're lost on an island, running from boars and monsters ...freakin' polar bears!" Hurley explained.

"Polar bears?" questioned Michael.

"You didn't hear about the polar bear?" scoffed Charlie as though it was an everyday occurrence.

"Look, all I'm saying is if we're stuck here, then just surviving's not gonna cut it. We need some kind of relief, you know? We need some way that we can ... you know, have fun. That's right, fun. Or else we're just gonna go crazy waiting for the next bad thing to happen" Hurley rationalized.

Jack looked at Michael, and Michael looked back at him. The two looked around for a moment, unsure of what to do.

* * *

Three and a half minutes later… 

Jack and Michael bent their heads down and spoke in deep thought, Michael shaking his head as Jack looked out past him, lost in thought.

"This is a problem, man" said Michael gravely.

"Yeah" said Jack with a nod.

"I mean, I know what I'd do, but ... it's gonna be your call" Michael told him.

Jack nodded again and Michael and he looked at the object on the ground as he made his decision.

"Okay" said Jack with a tense sigh. "Give me a 7-iron" he said turning to Michael

"Got it" said Michael, grabbing the club from the bag and handing it to him.

Jack looked up and rolled his eyes in a good-natured manner.

"Hey!" he yelled out with a chuckle.

At the other end of the course, standing by the hole, Hurley and Charlie were dancing around like they were on crack, trying to hex him.

"Heads up over there!" Jack yelled.

"No chance!"

"Don't blow it!"

"You won't get anywhere near us!" they taunted.

Jack smiled and prepared to take the shot. He pulled back the club, and just as he was about to bring it down, someone yelled "Hey! Doc!"

Jack stopped in mid swing and both he and Michael turned around to see Sullivan walking towards them.

"Hey, there you are! Somebody said you went this way" he moaned as Jack motioned at Hurley and Charlie. "Listen, that rash of mine is starting to spread. It's like the size of a grapefr…What are you guys doing?" he asked as he looked around

"Uh ..." Jack trailed off, feeling oddly like a kid being caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Are you playing golf?" Sullivan whined.

"Yeah" Jack said, hanging his head in shame.

"Can I play?" asked Sullivan, a smile on his face.

* * *

Back at the beach, Kate was dropping off some firewood that she had collected. She looked over and saw Shannon tanning on the beach, instantly jealous. If only she had the ability to just laze around all day. Shannon's brother came up to her and the two made some snide comments to each other before something really caught Kate's attention. 

"Someone at the caves built a golf course" Boone was saying

"Are you high?" asked his sister with a smile.

"Seriously, a golf course. Apparently Jack's playing with them right now" he told her.

"Jack?" asked Kate with a disbelieving snort "is golfing?"

"That's what I hear" Boone responded, laughing at Kate's shocked look. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go check this out" he said with a shrug as he got up and Shannon followed suit.

'Interesting' thought Kate with a smile, knowing she would have to see this for herself to believe it.

She dropped the firewood in the sand and started following the others when of course, Sawyer interrupted. She looked and saw him leaning against a part of the plane, sulking and being his general brooding self.

"Doctor playing golf. Whew! Boy howdy, now I've heard everything. What's next, cop eating a donut?" he snarked.

"If you want to come, you should just say" she told him with a smile.

"I think I'll pass on that, Freckles. Not big on crowds. And let's face it; crowd's not too hot on me, either"

Kate's face got softer and she instantly felt bad for Sawyer, something she knew neither he nor Jack ever wanted her to do.

"One outcast to another, I'd think about making more of an effort" she said as she continued walking.

She was pretty much out of Sawyer's ear shot when she vaguely heard him yell "Duly noted" and she couldn't help the little laugh that escaped. But now, she was starting to realize there was a chance she wasn't quite an outcast anymore.

* * *

Jack felt the adrenaline pumping as he swung the club and he paused in his follow-through to watch the ball go flying into the hole. 

"Ahh!" groaned Charlie as Jack smirked at him.

"Dude, I think you stuck it" Hurley said.

"Lucky, lucky" Charlie scoffed.

Kate watched from the crowd and as the other castaways started clapping for Jack's shot, she couldn't help but speak up, thrilled that Jack looked so happy.

"This thing have a Ladies' tee?" she said with a smile, her excitement multiplying when Jack gave her a huge smile in return.

"Hey" he said, bending his head down to give her a hello kiss.

"Hey" she said back, pleased that he was willing to do that in front of the crowd; she thought he wouldn't want to show any signs of affection in front of them.

But he actually took her hand and they walked a few steps, getting away from the crowd.

"When'd you show up?" he asked her.

"A while ago. I almost didn't recognize you. You're smiling" she teased, tracing his upturned lips with her finger.

"I have to watch that" he said in response. "Besides, I smile around you. Just not other people"

Kate gave him a smirk and a kiss in return.

"So how'd you come up with this?" she asked him, motioning to the course.

"Wasn't me. It was all Hurley. I've been going crazy trying to make everyone feel safe. I haven't been sleeping because I want everyone to feel safe. He builds a golf course, and everyone feels safe" said Jack, almost bitterly.

"You make me feel safe" Kate whispered to him.

Jacks cheeks got a little red but he was pleased with her comment. He started to play with a piece of her hair and Kate smiled happily. She was glad to see him more relaxed and less tense, so she couldn't care whose idea it was, as long as it calmed down. Still, it was hard for Jack. She knew that he had a hero complex and he took it hard when he couldn't help people. But he helped her, and she wanted him to know that he was needed, and not just by her.

"Ah, crap" yelled Hurley. "Do-over" he announced as if daring someone to challenge him.

"It's a Mulligan. Mulligan. It's a gentleman's sport. You got to get the words right. Mulligan" snapped Charlie.

Jack met Kate's eyes and shook his head and the two laughed. Suddenly, it hit Jack. It wasn't just about surviving anymore. He squeezed Kate's hand and went back to mocking Hurley with everyone else.

* * *

"What is he doing?" asked Kate as she and Jack took their attention from each others lips and instead focused on the golf game. 

Charlie was crouched on the floor, his face in the grass, as he tried to perfectly align his ball on the ground putting his face near the grass to check

"Guys, please" he said in response to the snickers he was getting, "I've never made par on a course before" he said as he stood up; finally ready to take his shot. "Aah! No!" as the ball didn't go in and everyone laughed (good-naturedly of course)

"Ah, dude, you were robbed" cried Hurley.

"Bollocks! See that?" Charlie protested, but Michael only rubbed his hands together with glee and glanced at Jack.

"Okay, Jack, it's up to you. Sink this; you get to wear the blazer"

"No pressure" Kate called out to him as he took the club and Jack sarcastically thanked her.

"Yeah, no pressure" mumbled Charlie

"Five bucks says he sinks it" Hurley suddenly stepped in.

"Mate, you betting against me?" Charlie asked in a mock hurt tone.

"Sorry, dude, but you're a duffer like me" Hurley said with a laugh.

"Make it ten and you're on" Boone added in.

"I don't have any cash, but I'll bet my dinner on the Doc" added Sullivan from the side lines.

Jack smiled and pointed at Sullivan. It was nice not to want to brutally murder the guy.

"I got two tubes of sunscreen and a flashlight says he chokes" came a voice from the crowds, and everyone turned to look at who spoke.

Sawyer was standing on the outskirts of the group, obviously having just arrived. Everyone was quiet and Jack and Kate both tried to smile at Sawyer. Boone just glared at him, and Sawyer tried to smile in an obvious attempt to make an effort.

"I'll take that action" said Kate finally with a strained smile.

"Betting against your boyfriend?" Sawyer asked with a smirk.

"Alright, fine. I've got a weeks supply of fruit saying otherwise" she said with a smile, knowing she never could bet against Jack anyway.

Men and their egos.

"I'm in on that too" said Boone to Sawyer as he tried to make an effort as well.

"You just bet on Jack, Dumbass" snapped Shannon.

"We need the sunscreen, Princess" he snapped back.

Sawyer just smiled as Jack shot the ball, sinking it right into the hole. Everyone either groaned or cheered based on their bet and Kate gave him a big hug and a kiss in all of her excitement.

"I'll take my sunscreen now. And that flashlight better still have the batteries" she said with a smile as she turned to Sawyer while still in Jack's arms.

"We said nothing about batteries Freckles" said Sawyer with a smile.

"Mhmm" said Kate, shaking her head at him but the smile was still on her face.

* * *

"I'm going now. You can come with me or not" said Kate that night to Jack as they stood outside of the caves. 

"You know I need to stay here" he stressed.

"Alright… but its going to be a very lonely night here for you"

"Lonely night for you too" he shot back. "Only the ocean to keep you company down at the beach"

"And Sawyer" she said with a smile.

He grabbed her up again and pulled her back into the caves.

"Jack?! What are you doing?" she shrieked as she laughed.

"It's a cave. So I'm being a cave man"

"You're going to kidnap me to get me to stay here with you tonight?" she asked him.

"If need be" he said, finally putting her down but keeping his arms around her.

"Alright" she said with a sigh, finally giving in.

"Maybe we should move all of your stuff from your tent to the caves" Jack mused aloud.

"Don't push your luck" Kate warned, holding out a finger.

* * *

"Jack?" she questioned late that night as she was lying in his arms, half asleep. 

"Hmm?" he asked, looking down at her, just able to make out her features in the dark.

"I'm kinda glad I got on that plane" she said in a sleepy tone.

"Me too" he whispered, kissing her on the head and pulling her closer.

* * *

A/N: Remember to review! They work better than chicken soup for me! 

Next chapter: Raised by Another

Charlie and Jack butt heads over Claire and it comes down to Kate to sort things out. Expect a little CC and a nice "Jate Escape".


	4. Raised by Another

A/N: I'm a terrible person. I know. I haven't updated in forever. But more reviews mean faster updates (hint hint). Sorry about the long wait though. I only have one more chapter written after this though so I gotta get cracking and start working.

Strizzy- Thanks for the review!

Hellmouth20- Your second review was the one that motivated me to finally post this. I kept saying I was going to do it and then I got all lazy. But when I got the review, I'm like, damn, I don't want to be hunted down with torches and pitchforks. So everyone can thank you for this next update!

rlmont91- Glad you loved it! Keep reading and reviewing!

midnight-sk8r- I like kicking ass! Thanks

Ella Jullian- Thanks for the review!

ainsleyhayes- You're welcome, lol. I'm just glad that people like it.

Hughfan- Thanks!

kcdancer- I'm glad you like it. Jate is meant to be so they should always be so casual with each other, lol.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Raised By Another**

The sun had started to rise by the time Claire calmed down enough to let Jack treat her. After her horrendous dream the night before, she had been extremely tense. As soon as everything calmed down, Kate had left, saying she needed to go and check things out at the beach. Meanwhile, Jack took to treating Claire's hands and trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Must have been a hell of a nightmare" he commented offhandedly as he bandaged her bloodied hands.

"Who said it was a nightmare?" Claire mumbled.

"I'd say when someone makes a fist so tight they dig their fingernails a quarter of an inch into their palms, they probably weren't dreaming about riding ponies. Did you ever sleepwalk before?" he asked.

"No. I don't think so. How would I know?" she asked him.

"It'd get back to you. I had a girlfriend once who told me I talked in my sleep" he reminisced, suddenly hoping he didn't talk in his sleep when Kate was around.

"What did you say?"

"Don't know. Whatever it was, she didn't like it" he said as Claire chuckled, and Jack thought about the things he might say in his sleep if Kate were around, most of which involved throwing her to the ground and having his way with her. "How was your OB/GYN in Sydney?"

"Good. She was good" Claire answered with a nervous nod.

"She was okay with letting you fly in your third trimester?"

"Yeah, I went for a checkup a week before, and she said it would be fine"

"Ultrasound was cool?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm. Very healthy" she responded with a nod.

"How you been feeling?"

"Okay. Back's pretty sore, but probably just from sleeping on the ground. I get dizzy if I stand up too fast. And I have to pee all the time" she told him and they both chuckled,

"You eating enough?" he asked, still trying to get answers without prying too much.

"Boar and bananas."

"How many weeks in are you? What was the date that you found out that you were pregnant?" he asked.

She was lost in thought for a moment before telling him. He cleared her to go and he sat there for a moment, thinking about what she had just told him. Claire was going to go into labor very, very soon. And he was going to have to be the one to deliver this baby with no anesthesia, ultrasounds, incubators, or a sterile bed or table. He needed to find Kate and talk to her. It was the only thing that would make him feel better.

* * *

He finally found her standing on the beach, gazing out into the ocean, remaining completely still. 

"Well, this is a first" he said as he came up behind her and she turned around to see him. "You standing still, middle of the day, doing nothing" he said with a smile and she smiled in return. "Amazing" he said with a bemused shake of his head.

"I'm doing something" she told him.

"Yeah? What's that?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I'm sinking" she said in a dreamy voice and he looked down to see her feet half-buried in the sand. "Water goes out, takes the sand with it, and you sink. I used to do it with my mom when I was a kid"

Jack was surprised. She never spoke about her family life. Ever. The smile faded from Kate's face and a frown replaced it as she looked away from him. His heart broke for her. Obviously, there was a reason she never spoke about her family. Something terrible must have happened and he didn't want her to have to ever even think about it. He just wanted to make her feel better forever.

"Ah, new plan. You're gonna just sink your way right off the island" he said in an attempt to acquire a smile from her, which he did. "Sayid would be proud" he mentioned, and then instantly regretted it.

"He's been gone for almost a week" she said in a serious tone and he realized that he had just undermined himself and upset her again.

"Something tells me he'll be okay" he reassured her.

"So what are you doing this far from the caves?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Bringing water down. Bringing fish back" he said. 'Looking for you' he added, but only as a thought. "Claire's gonna have the baby soon" he confessed.

Kate looked at him again and realized why he was really down at the beach. He looked unbelievably worried and she wanted to take his pain away, just like he wanted to get rid of hers. Knowing that nothing she could say could make him feel better she just reached out her hand.

"Sink with me Jack" she whispered, and he took her hand and stood in the wet sand letting the waves wash over him, embedding him in the same ground as the gorgeous woman beside him.

* * *

But Claire's nightmares didn't stop. She woke up again the next night, seemingly believing that she had been attacked. Charlie managed to calm her down but Jack knew something had to be done. Hurley had suggested the census and Jack knew it was a good idea. Things were becoming a little too _Lord of the Flies_ and more order needed to be established. Right now, the only thing that calmed him down was being with Kate. Just the simple gesture of her hand on his back or arm seemed to rid of him of near all of his anxiety. He was walking on the beach with her when Charlie approached them. 

"Do you know what time you returned to the caves from the beach last night?" he asked Kate.

"I'm not sure. Late. But before Claire was attacked" she told him, Jack's hand tightening around hers.

"Did you see anyone leave the beach last night? Or anyone walking on the trail in the jungle to the caves?" Charlie asked.

"People come and go, but I… no, I don't know" she said and Jack squeezed her hand. "What?" she asked him, looking up at his face.

"I'm not sure anything actually happened" Jack confessed.

"Wait, what?" questioned Charlie in disbelief.

"Claire told Michael and me that this attacker tried to inject her with something. But there was no mark on her stomach. She wakes up two nights in a row screaming. The first time, she was sleepwalking" he told them in an attempt to present them with all the facts before they judged him as a total jerk.

"You think she's making this up? She was terrified, man" Charlie sneered angrily.

"Look, she said that the guy was trying to hurt her baby. Why would someone do that now with all of us sleeping twenty feet away?" Jack tried to defend himself, and Kate looked up, getting worried for him.

"So you think she's lying?" he snapped, his anger multiplying.

"No. Pregnant woman have extremely lucid…"

"Lucid, right" Charlie mumbled.

"These are textbook anxiety nightmares" he tried to explain.

"You know everything that's going on with everyone, huh?" Charlie spat.

"Hey!" Kate yelled.

It was enough for her. Jack was trying to do everything he could for everyone and no on appreciated it. They all wanted his help until they didn't like what he said and she was sick of it. He was already dealing with so much and she didn't like people attacking him. She held tighter to Jack's hand like she was afraid to let go. Afraid that if she did, all of his self-doubt would just boil over.

"So what do we do?" she asked quietly, slightly leaning on Jack's broad chest.

"Claire's due in a little more than a week. Maybe two. But if she stays stressed out like this or has another panic attack, it could trigger an early labor. Out here with no instruments, no monitors, no anesthetic. That would not be good" Jack responded, recognizing that Charlie was upset and trying to alleviate the situation.

"It's not all in her head" Charlie snapped and walked away.

Charlie was willing to do whatever was necessary to protect Claire and he wouldn't stand for Jack accusing her of such things. If she was in danger, he was going to find a way to protect her, with or without the doctor's help.

As Charlie walked away, Jack let out a big sigh and rubbed his tired eyes with his free hand. Kate wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"You're a good man for trying, you know" she whispered. "People may not want to listen to you, but you're making an effort to help everyone, and that's what counts."

He said nothing, but instead reached down and kissed her, holding her in his grasp for a long time.

"I need to go talk to Claire" he said, finally breaking away from her.

"Do you want me to come?" she asked him, her hand still on his arm.

"It's ok" he told her.

"You sure?" she asked, knowing he was just saying that in one of his attempts not to seem vulnerable.

"I mean, if you happen to follow me there, I can't stop you" he hinted.

"Will you at least hold my hand when we walk?" she asked with a smile.

"I guess…" he said, trailing off, a small smile on his face too.

"Good" she said as she kissed him one more time and the two set off.

* * *

At the caves, Claire was writing in her journal when Jack and Kate arrived. 

"Claire?" Jack asked softly, and the girl jumped a little.

"Did you find him?" she asked eagerly as she shut her journal.

"Umm, no" Jack said slowly.

"What if he comes back?!" she asked, near hysterics.

Kate kneeled down next to Claire and put a comforting hand on her back as Jack sighed and pulled something from his pocket.

"Claire, this situation that we're in…the crash, that no one's coming, this place… it can kind of mess with your head a little and maybe make you see things that aren't actually there. Now, I know it feels very real…"

"I-I don't unders…"

"Your baby's coming… soon. And I can't even imagine how scary that must be for you. But the more upset you are, the more dangerous it is for you...and your baby. So, I want you to take these" he said, handing her something.

"What are they?" Claire asked fearfully.

"It's a sedative. Very mild, commonly used in situations like yours. It won't harm the baby. I promise."

"You don't believe me" she realized.

"Claire…" Kate started, but the blonde pulled herself away.

"You two think I'm making this up? I get attacked, and you want to give me sleeping pills?"

"They're not sleeping… look, it's a very mild sedative, Claire" Jack tried to explain.

"I'm leaving" she said as she started to pack her things hastily and angrily.

"What? No! Claire. Claire" Kate started.

"It was safe at the beach. It's not safe here" she protested.

"Don't do this, Claire. You need to think about the baby, Claire" Jack begged.

"Don't talk to me about the baby. I'm sick of everyone telling me what to do" she snapped. "God, look at the two of you. You're so caught up in being so self-righteous that you're not even paying attention to anyone around you. And you Kate! You used to love living at the beach and now that your _boyfriend_ demands it, you just pick up and move to the caves. I'm not going to be like that. I'm not going to stay here. And guess what? I'm an adult, and I can take care of myself!" she yelled.

Kate winced and looked as though Claire had visibly slapped her. Jack lightly grabbed Claire's arm to hold her back and get her to listen to reason.

"Please" he begged.

"Let go of me!" she screamed before grabbing her bag and leaving the caves.

As she passed Charlie, he asked her if she was ok. But Claire just ignored him and Charlie turned to focus on Jack, his anger apparent.

"What did you say to her?" he snapped.

"I just want to help" Jack maintained. "I tried to give her a sedative to keep her calm. It's necessary for the baby's health"

"You're her doctor Jack, not her bloody father. You don't get to boss her around! You don't get to boss anyone around!" Charlie yelled before giving him one last look of disgust and storming off.

"Damnit" Jack yelled and punched the cave wall, wincing and hissing in pain as his knuckles were scraped bare by the stone.

"Now what did that slab of rock ever do to you?" Kate asked him in a strained voice, taking his hand in hers and inspecting it.

"I'm sorry that Claire said those things to you" Jack said, looking ashamed.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. She was upset, and was lashing out. We better clean your hand" she said, leading him to the medical supplies and trying to get him to drop the topic.

"Yeah, but still…" he said trailing off as she started to clean up his knuckles. "Things are getting out of control" he commented.

"They were ever in control?" she asked skeptically. "Jack, we're on an island in the middle of nowhere. We were all strangers a month ago, and now we're all each others got. Not everyone is going to click together right away. You and I just got lucky"

"Luck huh?" he questioned. "Well, whether everyone likes it or not, we are all stuck together and we have to get along. And if people don't like my advice, they can stop asking for it" he grumbled.

"Or, you can beat them up like you did the wall" she said as she finished bandaging his hand.

"I'm serious Kate" he said with a sigh.

"I know" she responded. "But you can't stress about everyone else. You're doing your best"

"Maybe it's not enough" he mumbled.

"Come on" she said taking him by the hand and pulling him up.

"Where are we going?" he asked her as she pulled him into the jungle.

"We are going to wherever our feet take us!" she exclaimed.

"And does this place that our feet are taking us to have a name?" he asked her tensely.

"Loosen up Jack" she said with a smile as she turned back to look at him while still half dragging him. "We need to get away for a while. And this is the only way to do it"

"Kate, I can't just leave. I have certain responsibilities"

"Jack, you've done all that you can for everyone back there. Right now, let me take care of you"

"Alright" he said with a resigned sigh.

"Oh, don't make it sound like I'm dragging you into the jungle to chop you into little pieces" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm not" he whined and she raised one eyebrow. "I'm not" he said again, this time in a much deeper, more masculine voice, causing her to laugh.

* * *

Finally, the trees started to become less dense and they came to a small patch of beach. 

"And this is where our feet were taking us" said Kate in a breathless voice.

"Yeah" Jack said lamely, captivated by their little patch of land.

The ocean seemed to look even bluer from this spot, and there was silence everywhere. No one arguing over stupid things, no one complaining, no one getting injured. Here, it was just him and Kate. Alone. Kate pulled off her shoes and went over to the waters edge.

"Sinking again?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you wanna come with me?" she asked, a casual smile on her face.

"Definitely" he said, taking his shoes off and joining her too.

He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips to kiss her. She leaned her head on his shoulder as the two remained still and silent, just letting the waves wash the sand over their feet.

"I guess there is such thing as peace on this island" said Kate softly after a while.

"Yeah, you just have to get away from everyone else" Jack agreed.

"I don't think that applies just to this island" she commented.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. In reality, my life here is no different from my life back in the real world. Only difference is that there are fewer insurance forms"

Kate chuckled and closed her eyes.

"I wish this was my life back in the real world. Being able to stay in one place. Not always having to pick up and leave"

"Kate, when we get rescued, and we will, I'm going to help you. I promise" he said emotionally, pulling his feet out of their sand prison so that he could completely turn and face her. "Right now, I really don't care what you did, and I'm sure you'll tell me in time. But I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, here and back in civilization. Because there's another difference between here and the real world for me…you. I never met anyone like you before; I've never had anyone who actually cared about what I wanted, what I needed. No one's ever dragged me into a jungle to get me to relax before" he said with a smile and gently wiped away a lone tear that was running down her face. "I promise to always protect you" he said.

She looked up at him, her eyes still glistening with tears. She didn't say anything, but rather looked up and kissed him. And that was how he knew everything was going to be ok.

* * *

By the time Kate and Jack returned to the caves, everything had quieted down. Hurley updated them with what had happened during their short break. They had only been gone for an hour, but in that time Charlie had managed to convince Claire to stay at the caves, gotten into a fight with her, caused Claire to leave the caves again, and then attempted to follow her back to the beach. Everyone at this point was just leaving them alone. 

"Let them work it out" Kate told Jack. "Charlie will do whatever is necessary to keep her safe, and she'll realize in time that she needs your help"

"By that time, she could be in labor" he said bitterly.

"It'll be fine Jack" she assured him. "Remember, wherever your feet take you" she told him, using her new favorite metaphor.

"Just out of curiosity, how long you planning on relying on that one?" he asked her with a smile.

"I'm thinking the next 6 to 8 years" she said with a smirk.

"Oh. Great" he said and she laughed and kissed him.

But their kiss was interrupted as someone yelled Jack's name. They turned to see Sayid rushing at them, a definite limp in his step.

"Sayid!" Kate yelled out, relieved to see him.

Jack and Kate rushed over to him, both taking in his haggard appearance and his wild eyes.

"Listen to me" he panted as Jack and Kate exchanged worried looks.

He started to crumble to the ground and the two supported him, bringing him deeper into the cave area as Locke got closer to listen to what was going on.

"I found her…the Frenchwoman" Sayid told them.

"I need some water" Jack said to Kate as she immediately rushed to go get some. "What happened?" he asked his friend.

"The woman on the island ..." Sayid moaned as Jack checked his wounds. "I had to come back. I had to come back" he groaned as Kate handed him the open bottle of water and he took a deep gulp of it.

Jack ripped Sayid's pant leg to get a better look at his wound, but Sayid suddenly sat up and grabbed the doctor.

"We're not alone" said Sayid cryptically.

Jack shook his head and looked at Kate, who looked just as confused. Locke just looked at them, a twinkle in his eye.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, but they were interrupted as Hurley came tearing into the cave.

"We got a problem" he gasped, clutching the manifest clipboard as though it were his lifeline. "The manifest. Jack, the census… the names of everyone who survived. All forty-six of us. I interviewed everyone… here, at the beach. I got their names. One of them… one of them is… Jack!"

"One of them is what, Hurley?" asked Kate for her boyfriend, seeing how he was currently preoccupied with Sayid's leg.

"One of them isn't in the manifest. He wasn't on the plane!" Hurley exclaimed, and Jack dropped the bandages to look at him in surprise.

"What?!" he asked, a new kind of dread invading him.

* * *

A/N: Next Chapter: 

All the Best Cowboys have Daddy Issues

Jate, Locke, and Boone head off into the jungle to find Ethan and recover Claire and Charlie. But Jack's feeling guilty and lashes out at Kate leading to some Jate angst. Also expect a teeny tiny drop of CC and Shayid.


	5. All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

A/N: Finally! An update! I've been trying to write but I haven't had the time lately. Things are slowing down a bit so hopefully I'll have more writing time soon.

Hellmouth20- Aww! Thanks so much for reviewing. This and the next one are filled with Jangst.

Ella Jullian- I love to torture Jack. He's just so cute when he looks like a little puppy.

Rrlmont91- Thanks for reviewing!

Strizzy-Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

Jate4me- I'm glad you liked it!

Becky- Wow! Thanks for the enthusiasm, lol. I'm glad you loved it so much.

Midnight-sk8r- I might stick a few more Jate retreats in. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

**Chapter 5- All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues**

Jack's fingers fumbled with the bandage he was putting on Sayid's leg as he hurried to finish.

"He wasn't on the plane" Hurley continued.

"Who wasn't on the plane?" asked Kate fearfully

"Ethan… the Canadian guy. He's not on the passenger manifest" Hurley explained.

"Where the hell is he?" Jack demanded.

"I don't know. I saw him yesterday… but now…" Hurley stuttered

"Has anyone seen Ethan?" shouted Jack as he dropped the bandages and stood up.

"Sayid's leg…" Kate pointed out.

"Has anyone seen Ethan?" asked Jack in a more fear driven voice.

"Yeah, yeah, he went to get some wood. Took off on the path to the beach" Michael said as he came running over. "Is he okay? What happened?" he asked as he looked down at Sayid.

"Wait… Charlie" started Jack

"He went after Claire" confirmed Locke, as they all put the pieces together.

Jack dropped the last bandage he was holding and took off for the jungle, running quickly without ever looking back, ignoring the calls from Kate and Locke. Locke glanced at Kate before charging after Jack. He stopped short not too deep into the jungle as he saw Jack staring at a bag. Claire's bag.

"She was moving back to the beach. Claire. That's hers. What happened? What…" Jack started, distraught and unable to speak.

Locke tried to convince Jack that they needed to return to camp and organize a search party, but the doctor was inconsolable and irrational. He demanded that Locke tell him which way they were dragged before taking off in that direction.

After Jack ran off, Locke hurried back to camp. He needed to find Kate- the only person who could actually talk any sense into Jack.

* * *

"Where's Jack?" she immediately demanded as Locke returned. 

"He went after Ethan" said Locke simply.

"And you let him go alone!? What if he gets injured, or one of the weird island monsters gets to him!?" she asked in a panic.

"Don't worry; he doesn't have any tracking skills. He's probably wandering around in circles right now. We just need to get a few people together, meet up with him, and start a logical search" Locke explained calmly.

"I'm coming with you" Kate said stubbornly.

"Well yes, I figured as much" said Locke as he walked off to get his backpack.

* * *

Armed with Boone as well, Kate and Locke followed Jack's path, finally coming across the distressed man. Kate frowned at how ragged he looked. He looked confused and unsettled and it scared her. 

"Jack. Jack. Good thing you were going in a circle. Not much of a search grid, but we never would have found you otherwise" Locke said with a somewhat inappropriate smile.

"Did you find anything?" Kate asked him softly as she put her hand on his arm.

"No" he said stoically, pulling away from her a bit.

"You should go back to the caves… Sayid's leg" Locke supplied.

"I dressed Sayid's leg. You found me; we can find Charlie and Claire. Now, do we have a trail to follow or not?" he snapped.

"Jack, this was my fault" Locke explained.

"What?" asked Jack with a confused shake of his head.

"I hunted with Ethan. I spent time with him. I never sensed anything off. But for everything that I know about hunting, tracking… whoever he is, he knows more. If we catch up with him, I don't want anything to happen to the only trained physician on the island. So go back, be the doctor. Let me be the hunter" Locke begged.

"Can we go now?" asked Jack in a bored tone.

"Follow me" said Locke with a sigh as Kate looked at the two of them, the concern evident on her face.

* * *

After a few hours of wandering around and following Locke, they stopped as Locke bent down and inspected the ground. 

"Anything?" asked an impatient Jack.

"Not yet" he answered.

"If you can't find the trail…" said Jack with a frustrated shrug.

"I'll pick it up again. We need to rest for a minute; get our clarity back" Locke told him.

"You're going to take a break? It's got to be almost 4 o'clock. When the sun sets there's no way…" whined Jack and Kate shot him a look that clearly said "cut it out".

"It's 4:25. And, yes, I'm taking a break" Locke snapped back.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" said Kate with a pointed look towards Jack. He nodded and walked away from the group with her; as soon as they were out of ear shot she turned to him and asked "Would it kill you to give the guy a little space?

"It might" Jack moaned.

"Stop that" Kate said, her hands on her hips as she glared at him in a disapproving manner.

"What?" he snapped.

"That. What's going on?" her eyes narrowing in anger, yet at the same time she felt sympathy for the man in front of him.

Didn't Jack get it? She cared about him and she was worried. He wasn't acting like himself. She closed her eyes for a second and hoped that when she opened them, everything would be back to normal. Or at least as normal as things got on the island. She just wanted to be able to do her favorite thing right now- lie in Jack's arms so that the two of them could forget the world around them. But Jack was acting strange and almost childish and there was way too much chaos to just escape. Jack swallowed hard and his face seemed to crumble a little more.

"I didn't believe her… Claire. I gave her a sedative" he said as he looked down at his feet, avoiding Kate's eyes.

"Jack, you can't…" she started, putting her hand under his chin and lightly forcing his head up so that he had to look at her.

"She told me someone was after her, that she was being attacked, and I… she just seemed so out of it. I thought that her pregnancy was amping up her stress. I… I didn't believe her" he said in a dejected tone.

Kate wasted no time throwing herself in his arms and holding on to his neck tightly with one hand as she rubbed his back with her other.

"It's ok. It's not your fault" she whispered softly.

"But…" he started, but he was cut off by Locke yelling his name.

"What is it?" Kate asked as she reluctantly pulled away from Jack yet still leaned against his chest.

"Look familiar?" asked Locke as he held up a little piece of tape with the letter "L" on it.

"Yeah, it's Charlie's" said Jack, hope returning to him for a fleeting moment.

"You think it just came off?" asked Boone.

"No. He's leaving us a trail" Jack answered in a determined voice.

"Let's go" said Kate as they resumed their hunt, tracking through the jungle.

* * *

Jack held Kate's hand the whole time, trying not to focus on how useless he felt. He remembered the last time he felt like this. The time when his father had entered that operation he was in the middle of… the time that they lost that woman and her unborn child… he wasn't going to let it happen again. He wasn't going to let himself focus on the horrors of his past again. His previous betrayals and mistakes. Jack finally let go of Kate's hand when he bent down next to a bush and pulled a piece of tape off one of the branches. This piece had a letter "A" on it. 

They went this way" he said as he pointed towards his left.

"I'm not so sure" Locke said as he looked towards the right. "There's another trail here."

"What do you mean, 'another'?" Jack asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

As Kate watched his taut muscles stretch even more and the sweat cling to his body jealously, she had to remind herself that they were in the middle of a crisis situation. Now was soooo not the time.

"These are footprints. People moved off this way" Locke pointed out and Kate focused her attention on him, knowing that if she kept looking at Jack she wouldn't be able to restrain herself.

"Charlie's leaving these for us to follow. They went that way" Jack countered and a sudden thought hit Kate now that she was able to focus on anything other than Jack's body.

"Unless Charlie isn't the one leaving them. If Ethan knows that we're behind him, he could be setting up a dummy trail. Takes off in one direction, doubles back in his old footprints" she suggested.

Everyone turned to look at her, clearly surprised by her suggestion. She smirked a little in return; proud of herself for once that she was doing something productive for womankind.

"Wait, now you're a tracker?" asked Boone.

"You're just full of surprises" Locke said and Jack glared at him, unsure of what Locke meant by that.

"So we've got two trails. Let's split up. I'll take that one" he said as he pointed to his left, glad to get him and Kate away from Locke.

"No, we should stay together, Jack" Locke argued.

"Why? We've got two trails and apparently two trackers" he snapped back.

Locke looked at him and Kate before nodding his head.

"Be careful" he warned as Jack and Kate started off on the trail that followed Charlie's clues.

"Come on" Jack said to Kate as he roughly grabbed her hand and started pulling her along.

"Ow! Jack, loosen up a little" she said as she pulled her hand from his and glared at him.

"Sorry" he mumbled halfheartedly. "Which way did they go?" he asked her.

"Umm. This way I think" she said as she kneeled down to the ground to inspect footprints before pointing.

"Good. Let's go" he said as he suddenly shot off at breakneck speed in the direction that she had pointed.

"Please slow down!" she yelled after him as she tried to keep up with him, her breaths heavy and labored.

"You said they went this way?" Jack questioned over his shoulder as he kept running

"I think they went this way. I'm not as good at this as Locke is" Kate said as she ran after him, tripping over a root and catching herself at last second.

Jack suddenly stopped and looked around like a feral animal. He turned and looked at her and she nearly took a step back. His eyes held pain, anger, and something else she couldn't identify. Maybe guilt. Maybe something else.

"So where'd you pick up the tracking skills, Kate? Was that before or after you were on the run?" he spat at her.

"I'm trying to help, Jack" she said, her voice quivering and she willed her eyes not to fill with tears.

"You know what might help? A little honesty. Just give me something real… anything" he sneered and he knew that the beast inside of him was taking over.

The jealous, angry beast that reminded him that he was nothing. The beast that told him that everyone was a liar, everyone was out to get him and he needed to get to them before they could get to him. Come to think of it, the internal beast actually resembled his father.

Kate took a deep breath and braced herself. She wasn't ready to start spewing all of her secrets but as she looked at Jack she realized he wasn't the same sweet guy she had sunk with just hours before. He was being consumed by something and the only way to snap him out of it right now was to appease him.

"My dad was in the army… Ranger Battalion" she started as she panted and tried to catch her breath. "He was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington State. We'd go hiking together. One day we spent eight hours tracking deer. Being in the woods, it was like…it was like his religion" she said as she became lost in the memories of simpler times. All the sudden, her anger returned though and she bit back at him. "That was real. Anything you wanna share, Jack?" she snapped, her arms crossed over her chest.

She hated that he put her in such a vulnerable position and she hated that he was taking his anger out on her. She thought he was different. She thought he wasn't like all the other guys out there. When Jack just stood there and remained stoic she let out a deep sigh and continued walking, keeping her distance from him and not saying a word.

* * *

Jack and Kate walked in silence until they reached a rocky clearing. He walked ahead of Kate and bent down and picked up a piece of tape with the letter "T" on it. 

"Guess we were right" he said and Kate just shrugged her shoulders at him, her anger still on the surface. "Where to now?" he asked as he swallowed hard and tried to ignore the furious glare that Kate was shooting his way.

Kate was in the middle of thinking of an angry and snappy remark to come back with when they were interrupted by what sounded like the echoing of a scream. They both looked around and Jack looked up suddenly when he heard the screams get louder and a woman's cries for help were clearly heard. He knew who it was immediately and he took off, running up the hill.

"Jack!" Kate yelled after him, exasperated that he kept doing this to her today.

He started climbing the hill and she followed his suit, mumbling as she pulled herself up on the roots.

"Jack, where are you going? Jack!" she called out.

"Didn't you hear her?" he asked, turning around slightly to look at her.

"Hear who?" she asked, concern replacing her anger.

Jack didn't answer her but rather turned back to his climb. His hand grabbed a wet root and he suddenly realized that it was raining and he couldn't even remember when it had started. Kate followed behind him at a much slower pace and she struggled to hold on to the damp foliage. Jack had nearly reached the top when she saw him lose his grip on a root. With nothing to hold on to, he slid down the hill roughly, his body hitting various rocks and sticks. Kate's heart stopped as she saw him fall and she thought she was going to pass out. Resisting the urge to vomit she started to climb back down as quickly as she dared, yelling his name the whole time.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jack hit the bottom of the hill with a thud and his whole body protested. He moaned and flipped over a bit, knowing that he had to get up if only to assure Kate that he was ok. As he turned, he saw Ethan standing there with an angry smirk on his face. He pressed his foot into Jack's chest and he gasped and moaned as his air supply was cut off and his already sore chest was further attacked. 

"If you do not stop following me, I will kill one of them" Ethan warned him before pulling his foot from Jack's chest and instead kicking him in the gut, ignoring Jack's groans and coughing. "Do you understand?" Ethan asked Jack as he put his foot on his chest once again.

Jack grabbed Ethan's foot and pushed him off him quickly causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards into a mud puddle. He quickly got to his feet as Jack scrambled to get up and find his own footing. He swung back a fist and used all his anger to punch him down again. Ethan got up before Jack knew what was happening and retaliated with punches to Jack's face and stomach. He waited as though he was taunting Jack, teasing him to punch him again. Jack took the bait and swung but missed as Ethan dodged the punch with ease. Ethan punched Jack hard in the stomach and the doctor groaned and doubled over with pain. For a second, he thought of Kate and hoped she wasn't down here yet- he didn't want her getting into it with Ethan. He knew she could take care of herself but he had never met anyone who fought quite like Ethan and he knew he wouldn't draw the line at hurting a woman. The thought of a hurt Kate was more painful than any of those punches that Ethan had given him.

"No more warnings" he told Jack as he reached back and hit him right in the face.

Jack fell backwards into a puddle of water and his last thoughts as he lost consciousness involved a dark haired beauty who had stolen his heart.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kate was making her way down the hill and she finally managed to make it down safely as the rain lightened up and began to stop. She couldn't breathe when she saw him lying on the ground completely still, his lip bleeding a bit. She ran over to him and cradled his head in her lap, her tears starting. 

"No, Jack! Wake up" she begged him as she touched his face gently and wiped the blood away. "Wake up" she whispered over and over again as she cradled his abused body into hers. Fear was overwhelming her and she shakily felt for a pulse and found one. All the sudden, he started to stir and she hastily wiped her tears away.

"Jack. Are you okay?" she said with relief as he opened his eyes, a small smile playing on her lips as she bent down to kiss him hard, so glad that he was awake.

He kissed her back greedily before realizing that they needed to get going.

"How long was I out?" he asked her as he raised his head from her lap and pulled back away from her.

"I don't know, a few minutes. You slipped. With all the rocks and everything" she said as she closed her eyes against the internal image of him falling and willing herself to remember that he was ok.

"Ethan" he mumbled as he got up.

"What?" asked Kate as she tried to tug him back down to the ground gently so he could rest more.

"Ethan was here" he said, the wild look back in his eyes.

"You banged your head, Jack" she said softly, her grip on his hand tightening.

"No, no. He was here" he maintained as he pulled his hand away from her.

"You have to stop. The rain has washed away the trail. Even if he was here, you've got…Jack!" she yelled, her anger returning as he blatantly ignored her and her concern and took off again.

"I'm not letting him do this" he muttered.

"Not letting him?!" she called out in exasperation.

"Not again" he said as he took off running leaving poor Kate to follow.

* * *

They ran for a while longer before pushing through some trees and coming to a clearing. Kate froze and gasped when she saw what was waiting for them there. Charlie was dangling from a tree by his neck, only one piece of tape remaining on his finger. 

"No!" Jack yelled, coming to his senses before Kate did and grabbing his legs to hold him up and stop him from dangling his neck. "You gotta cut him down" he yelled towards Kate and she grabbed a knife from her pocket, put it in her mouth and started climbing the tree despite how difficult it was.

"Hold on, Charlie. Hold on there" he assured him, trying not to worry for both Charlie and Kate when he saw her slip a little.

"I can't reach! Pull him over!" she begged him as she tried desperately to reach Charlie once she got high enough.

Jack moved him closer to Kate and she worked furiously as she attempted to get him down with Jack begging her to try harder the whole time. She finally got him down and he collapsed on to Jack as she scrambled down the tree trunk. Jack removed the blindfold and the roots quickly, checking his pupils and listening for any signs of breathing.

"He's not breathing" he told Kate as she joined him at his side.

Kate held Charlie's hand as Jack administered CPR, banging on his chest and begging him to breathe. After a few moments, Jack still hadn't given up and Kate had started to cry. She didn't want to accept it but she knew it was true. Charlie was dead. They had lost one. Jack was going to be devastated and she knew it just might kill him to fail. Someone else close to her had died and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it. She got everyone hurt.

"Jack" she cried through her tears, his name being the only word she could bring herself to utter. He ignored her and kept his compressions up, unwilling to fail as a doctor yet again. "J-Jack" she begged again, her voice quivering.

"Come on, Charlie! Come on!" Jack yelled as he banged hard on Charlie's chest.

Unable to take it any more, Kate got up and walked a few steps away, her tears overwhelming her. She didn't know what to do. She needed help and there was no one to give it to her. Jack however wasn't ready to give up. He banged so hard on Charlie's chest that he thought he felt a rib start to crack. Kate tried to pull him away and beg him to stop but he ignored her. She didn't understand. He wasn't losing another patient. He wasn't proving his father right.

"Jack, he's… Jack, stop. He's not coming ..." she choked out.

Jack finally stopped and looked up at her for a second, seeing the devastated face of the woman he cared about more than anything

"It's okay. It's okay" she said she put her hands around his neck and tried to hug him.

The thought of her comforting him after he screwed up angered him. He didn't want that ever. He wanted to prove to her and everyone else that he was a brilliant doctor. He wanted to be worthy of her. He allowed himself to sniffle once before he pushed her away from him and stared at Charlie before getting back to work, pounding on his chest.

He kept repeating the words "no" and "come on" as Kate kept repeating his name and the word "stop". Charlie was gone and Kate didn't want Jack torturing himself like this anymore, nor did she want to put Charlie's body through anymore. He had already died- he didn't need an assault on his chest on top of it. She was breaking down and the tears were overwhelming her.

All the sudden, Charlie let out a gasp and sucked in the air. Kate immediately stopped crying and Jack smiled as she rushed towards him and Charlie. They helped him to sit up as Charlie coughed and Kate laughed and cried at the same time.

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, just breathe. Breathe. That's it" Jack said as he tried to calm Charlie down as he gasped and coughed.

Kate and Jack smiled at each other as Kate held Charlie's hand and Jack talked to him and held him up, getting him to calm down and just breathe. That was all Jack himself needed to do. He just needed to breathe. He looked up towards Kate again and tried smiling at her, but he noticed she wouldn't quite look him in the eye. Jack sighed, his smile faltering for a second. He knew that his behavior from the afternoon was going to need some explaining if he wanted Kate to not be mad at him, or worse, hate him.

* * *

Back at camp, Kate and Jack attended to Charlie. Jack checked out the bruising on his neck and listened as Charlie mumbled about how all they wanted was "her"- Claire. Charlie was a mess. He sat there and stared into the flames and Jack looked at him with sympathy. He knew that if it was Kate out there, kidnapped by some psychopath, he would be feeling just as useless and horrible. Charlie looked like he had given up on everything. He had failed Claire, the girl he was falling hard for. He was weak- he was overtaken by Ethan when he should have been fighting him to save Claire. He couldn't get the memory of Claire's cries out of his head. Her cries as they were dragged through the jungle, her cries when they had blindfolded him and strung him up. 

He had failed her.

* * *

Sayid limped over to the blonde girl sitting by the fire, huddled under a blanket. His leg still hurt, but he had experienced worse. He knew that she was worried about her brother who still hadn't returned. He felt an intense need to comfort her and he couldn't figure out why. 

"Hello" he said softly. "Your name is Shannon, right?" he asked, suddenly nervous. He didn't even know why he asked her that, of course he knew her name. He just didn't want her thinking he was watching her quite as much as he was.

"Yeah. And you're Sayid" she said, a statement, rather than a question.

"Yes. I just saw you sitting alone, and I know, with your brother" he stammered.

"I'm fine" she answered tensely.

"Right" he said, taking that to mean, 'no, you can't sit down'. "I'm sure they just made camp for the night. If there's anyone on this island that your bother's safe with, it's Locke" Sayid said gently before limping off.

Shannon turned her head and watched him go with a sigh. She didn't know why she was so mean to him. He had been genuinely concerned about her it seemed. But then she remembered why. She was a bitch, and Boone never let her forget it.

* * *

"Are you coming to bed?" Jack asked Kate. 

Everyone was already heading to their beds and a few people were walking back on the path to the beach to settle down into their tents for the night. Kate was refilling a water bottle and she still had yet to meet his eye.

"Yes" she answered.

"I'll wait for you then" he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"I'm not coming to bed in the caves though Jack" she told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked her, suddenly afraid.

"I'm going back to the beach" she said as she got up with the water bottle and put it in her backpack.

"I really should spend the night here, especially with Charlie and Sayid being injured, but I guess one night at the beach is ok" he said anxiously as he tried to play off the situation.

"No Jack. I'm going back to the beach alone. Without you" she said, her anger apparent as she started to walk off.

"You're right" he called after her.

"About what?" she asked as she stopped but didn't turn around.

"I owe you something real too" he said as he took a few steps closer to her. She finally turned around and he took it as a cue to continue. "I betrayed my father. There was this woman brought in to the hospital, after a car accident I think. I was operating on her even though my father was called. He came in on the operation, took over. And he screwed up. He cut something he shouldn't have. The woman died and my father told me to just sign the papers. Just say that her injuries were too vast and they were what killed her. Nothing wrong with that, right? But he had…I smelt… he was drunk in the operating room. This woman… she was pregnant. And now she was dead. So I told the medical review board. He lost his license, his career, his dignity. And I lost my family. My mother turned on me… and… the point is Kate, I've screwed up in the past. I've lost enough people I care about. And that was why I was acting that way today. I never wanted to hurt you" he told her, his eyes pleading with her.

Kate wanted so badly to take him in his arms and comfort him and tell him over and over again that she wasn't mad and that she forgave him. But it just wasn't true.

"You're not the only one with a rough past" she said coldly before turning away from him and walking towards the beach as both she and Jack allowed a few tears to fall.

Jack headed back to the cave he slept in, all alone. He hadn't been alone in there for a few days. He had gotten used to her company. He tried to get comfortable and tried to fall asleep but it was useless. He had hurt Kate. He had screwed up with Kate. He couldn't recall a time where he had felt worse about himself. He took a deep breath and brushed away another tear that was falling.

"Boys don't cry" his fathers voice echoed in his head, accompanied by a manly slap to the back of the head, the memory still fresh in his mind, considering how many times he had experienced that same incident during his childhood. He sucked it up and tried to close his eyes and only think pleasant thoughts about Kate so that he could try and get some rest. Tomorrow he'd make everything better. Tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review, reviews make me update faster! 

Next Chapter: Whatever the Case May Be

Jack and Kate's relationship continues its downward spiral as Jack suspects that Kate is keeping more secrets from him. Will they be able to move forward and leave their pasts behind?


	6. Whatever the Case May Be

A/N: I haven't updated in forever, I know. I've been really bad with the updating. But now that summer's here, you can expect more frequent updates. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

jate4me- Jate fluff is good. Wait a few chapters- I wrote a really fluffy one. Thanks for reviewing!

Hellmouth20- Sorry it's been so long, I just wish I had more reviewers like you! Thanks for the compliments!

Becky- I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing.

midnight-sk8r- Just wait, I have all the lovin planned. Thanks for taking the time to review.

Hughfan- I love the angst too. Thanks for reviewing!

rlmont91- Thanks for your kind words!

* * *

**Chapter 6- Whatever the Case May Be**

Two days had passed and Kate and Jack were still not back to normal yet. Both were too stubborn to just apologize so as a result they kept their distance from each other. They still shared the occasional conversation and meaningful look but it had been two days since Jack had held, kissed, or felt his angel. Kate felt just as miserable without her rock. She tried to keep herself busy, usually by collecting fruit. She was doing just that when she heard a sound rustling the tall grass around her. Bending down slowly she picked up a rock and mentally counted to 5. She chucked the rock at the noise and was surprised to hear a human "ow" with a southern twang.

"Son of a bitch!" cried Sawyer as he limped out of the bushes. What the hell are you doing?"

"What the hell are you doing?" she countered.

"My knee… you practically busted my damn kneecap!" he moaned.

"Are you stalking me now?" she asked in disgust.

"Stalking you? I was protecting you" he said as he limped over, his famous Sawyer sneer on his face.

"From what, southern perverts?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, whatever. Since you and Doctor Jackass appear to be on the fritz I knew someone had to look after you. You have a tendency to find trouble Freckles"

"Jack and I are fine" she told him through clenched teeth. "And I can take care of myself"

"Yeah, I can see that" he said as he threw a wistful look down at his knee.

"It's not that bad" she assured him with a role of her eyes.

"It's _my_ knee. I'll tell you how bad it is" he snapped. "What the hell are you doing all the way out here, anyway?"

"Everyone's been eating a lot. This is the only place the trees aren't picked clean. Besides, I just needed to think"

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't be out here alone, not after what happened to…" Sawyer said and his expression softened.

"No, I'm fine. I can take care of myself" she said quietly, her mind wandering back to how desperate Jack had been during their hunt to bring Claire and Charlie back.

"Oh, of course. 'I don't need protecting. I can take care of myself'" he mocked as he tried to lighten the situation. "'Me Kate. Me throw rock.'"

* * *

Jack stood on the beach helping people to move their things back from the upcoming water. He and Sayid had just had an intense conversation regarding whether or not they were alone on the island. Jack still wasn't ready to give up on Claire. He felt a need to protect her. But the need was different than the way he felt when it came to protecting Kate. He missed Kate. Her bright smile and ability to make him laugh seemed to be the only thing keeping him sane. Jack wanted to find the Frenchwoman and get answers so he could bring Claire back and find a way to patch things up with Kate. He saw Kate walk back to the beach and his breath caught in his throat. She was all wet and the water was clinging to her skin creating what he could only think of as droplets of desire. Her clothes clung tightly to her body and he just wanted to grab her up. Unfortunately, she wouldn't even make eye contact with him as she instead took to moving her things back up the beach. Jack's blood suddenly boiled as he saw Sawyer approach with a silver briefcase. The southerner looked just as wet as his girlfriend. 

"She push you into a lake?" asked Jack with a jealous smirk as Sawyer walked past him.

"Actually, we frolicked in a waterfall" said Sawyer with a rival smirk that put Jack's to shame.

Jack walked away from Sawyer and forced himself to remove those images from his mind. He went over to where Kate was struggling to pack up her things and bent down next to her.

"Need a hand?" he asked.

"No, thanks. I'm ok" she said softly and looked away from him.

Jack looked down at his feet and ignored the ice gripping at his heart. He felt so lost without her and he just wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her close so that he could find his way again. He needed her like he needed oxygen. He couldn't survive without her and he wasn't doing so well with that. The past two nights had been the loneliest of his life. He hated falling asleep without her in his arms and he had difficulty doing it. He had quickly gotten used to the feeling of her small warm body wrapped in his own. He couldn't help the worry and the pain he was feeling.

"Kate" he said, playing with her name as it rolled so easily off of his tongue, "things got out of control with this whole Claire thing and I went a little…crazy, I know. And I didn't mean to hurt you. Hurting you is the last thing I want to do. I'll always protect you, remember?" he asked her and her eyes finally met his. "I don't want to fight anymore"

"We're not fighting Jack" she sighed.

"But we're not ok either"

"No, not exactly" she answered. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not hurt by the way you treated me. I've never seen you so cold before, especially to me. But I know that I have to move on, and I'm trying"

"Does that mean I can help you?" he asked hopefully.

"I guess" she said and he smiled widely, feeling blessed just because he was able to spend time in her presence.

* * *

Jack glanced at Kate that night as she sat by the fire and poked at it with a stick. She looked distracted but her attention was suddenly focused on Sawyer. Jack felt anger and sadness at the same time as he saw that but then he realized that Kate wasn't focused on Sawyer, she was captivated by the silver case in his hands. His curiosity peaked but he knew that he was not in a position to ask her just yet. Kate could feel Jack's eyes burning into her and she tried not to make it obvious that she was aware of him. She thought back to the case in Sawyer's hand and tried desperately not to think about it. She needed to get it from him. She knew that she probably needed Jack's help to do so but she was too humiliated to ask him. She didn't want him to know about her past at all, even the bank robbery. She didn't want him to know about how she played a couple of thugs to convince them to help her get the contents of the case. Or how she had been so comfortable using a gun. Instead, she sighed and stood up, resilient and strong as ever. She would get it on her own. She was perfectly capable of doing so and she would. 

Jack saw her stand and walked over to her, gently touching her arm, some of the first physical contact he had with her in days.

"You ok?" he asked her softly.

"I'm fine" she said with a tight smile. "I'm just tired. I think I'm gonna go back to the beach and get some sleep."

"You sure you don't want to stay here?" he offered nervously. "I mean, it's probably safer with the tide and everything" he stammered.

Kate smiled wistfully. She really did want to stay at the caves and get everything back to normal with Jack. But a small part of her was still furious with him and besides, she needed to keep an eye on Sawyer.

"Not tonight Jack" she said as she leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "Goodnight" she said as she walked off leaving Jack alone with his thoughts and the feel of her soft lips on his stubbly cheek.

* * *

Jack walked back to the beach with more water bottles and distributed them around the camp while one eye kept a lookout for Kate. He finally spotted her trekking back from the waters edge. 

"Hey" he said as he handed her a water bottle.

"Thanks" she said as she took it and raised it to her lips for a sip.

As she tilted her head back to drink the sun bounced off a small bruise that was forming on her forehead.

"What happened?" he asked her with worry as he gently took her head in his hands and checked out the welt on her forehead, determined to ring the neck of whoever hurt his girl.

"Oh, it was nothing. I just head butted S…someone" she said as she pulled her head back from his grasp, though she found herself missing the feel of his fingers. "Don't even worry about it"

"I always worry about you Kate" Jack answered truthfully.

Kate was caught up in the look of genuine concern in his eyes. She closed the water bottle in her hands and looked back up at her boyfriend. He was so beautiful and so good to her and she knew that he deserved better. After all of the things that she had done, she didn't deserve someone like Jack. She bit her lip as she realized that she was just hurting him by holding on to her anger. She was lucky to have a guy like him and she just wanted to keep up a certain façade so he wouldn't realize what a screw up she was and leave her. And one way to do that was to forgive him for his mistakes so hopefully one day he could forgive her for hers. She reached up and slowly kissed him, at first just brushing her lips against his. Jack dropped the bottles he was holding into the sand and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss, prying her mouth open softly with his own lips and allowing them greater access to her. He greedily kissed her, never wanting to let go but they both had to pull away or they risked oxygen deprivation. Panting heavily Jack held her tightly in his embrace and she rested her head on his chest. He was just relieved that she had managed to forgive him and that she still wanted to be with him. They were quiet for a moment, content to just hold each other. Kate looked around the beach and then furrowed her brow.

"What's that about?" she asked, pointing to where Sayid was nervously chatting up Shannon.

"I think Sayid needed some help translating some French" Jack told his girlfriend as he rubbed her back. "But between me and you, I think someone has a crush"

"It's hard to imagine Sayid with a crush on anyone" said Kate with a smile.

"Hey, even the tough guys can be softies at times" said Jack. "I should know" he told her and she snorted a bit at him. "Hey, I take that personally"

"You're my softie, don't worry" she told him.

"And your tough guy?" he asked but only received silence in response. "Well, alright then" he said nervously, trying to act like it was still part of their joke.

"I have to go" she said suddenly, her gaze focused on the jungle, as she disentangled herself from his arms and ran off into the jungle where Sawyer had just disappeared to.

Jack sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked over to where Sayid was talking to Shannon and saw the telltale signs of flirting, even if they didn't notice it. Shannon was topless with just a thin wrap held over herself as she sat up to talk to him and Sayid was failing miserably as he tried to pretend that he didn't notice. He tried to pretend that he was just asking for a business related favor, but he also knew he couldn't just ignore her long skinny legs and perfect body. Jack wished he could go back to when he and Kate were like that. When there was no drama and no doubt. When he stood at the waters edge with a beautiful girl and tried to sink off the island. Before he had screwed everything up. He tried to assure himself that he could trust Kate and her sudden obsession with Sawyer had nothing to do with the southerner himself. Jack glanced at Charlie, sitting all alone staring into the ocean and he knew it could be worse. Much worse.

* * *

Kate didn't emerge from the jungle even after Jack had finished distributing the water at the beach so he reluctantly gave up on waiting for her. Resisting the urge to dash through the jungle looking her and Sawyer, he instead followed the beaten path back to the caves. He gave a halfhearted smile to Sun but was pleased when she began to show him some herbs and plants that he could use to treat certain ailments. As always, Jack used his medical career to distract himself from the other problems he was having in his life. He had almost forgotten about the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had gotten when Kate ran after Sawyer when Kate walked by the caves. She saw Jack and tried to catch his eye but he seemed reluctant to look straight at her. She turned towards him and walked at him, giving Jack about 15 seconds to sort through his feelings. As hard as he tried, he couldn't suppress his bitterness. 

"Jack" she said softly as she put her hand on his arm. "We've got a problem"

"_We_ have a problem or… _you_ have a problem?" he asked as he pulled away from her slightly, a frown on his face.

"Jack, you're the only one who knows about me" she said quietly, lowering her eyes in shame.

Jack's anger began to flood out of him as he saw her sullen face. He took her hand in his and caressed it, sitting down with her. She snuggled closer to him, desperate to feel some of his comfort.

"Before I left for Sydney, the Marshal who was escorting me, he had this silver case. The Airline wouldn't let him bring him the case on the plane. It was hard enough trying to convince them to let him wear a gun on his ankle. But the case… they made him check it" she explained.

"What was in the case?" he asked her, gently prodding her on.

"Some traveling money. Some of his personal stuff. And four 9 millimeters with a few boxes of ammo" she said pointedly.

"Guns" Jack stated simply.

"Guns" she affirmed as she nodded her head, neither noticing Sun's quiet exit.

"So, where is the case now?" he asked her.

"Sawyer has it" Kate said with a heavy sigh.

"Uh-huh" he said as Kate's odd behavior suddenly all started to make sense. She wasn't having an affair with Sawyer; she was simply trying to steal the case back from him.

"He hasn't been able to open it, but…"

"Lucky for us" Jack said, not wanting to think about what would happen if Sawyer managed to get his hands on a gun.

"He will. Sooner or later"

"So, what do you need me to do?" he asked with a sigh, knowing that he had no power whatsoever over the man.

"I know where the key is. He… the Marshal kept it in his wallet, in his back pocket"

"I buried him, Kate" Jack told her with an even bigger sigh as he gently pulled his hand from hers and rubbed his face.

"I know. Where?" she asked sharply.

"So what else is in the case?" he asked his girlfriend, his eyes narrowing and his anger returning as he started to realize that he was being played.

"What?" she asked as she tried to remain innocent looking.

"What else is in the case, Kate?" he asked harshly as he got up and stared down at her.

"Nothing" she maintained, standing up as well and attempting to take his hand in hers.

"That's the truth?" he asked, relaxing his finger a bit so she could partially slip her hand into his.

"Just the guns" she told him, her free hand going up to caress this side of his face.

"If you want my help, we're gonna open the case together" he decided, finally letting her fully grasp his hand.

"Okay" she said, her eyes not quite meeting his.

"Okay" he replied with a nod.

* * *

Jack led Kate to the burial sight and looked down in dismay. Not only did he fail the Marshall by letting him die, but now he was about to desecrate his grave. The things he would do for that girl. Kate looked at Jack and let out a breath as she handed him one of the shovels. He nodded at her and the two silently went about digging. The deeper into the ground they got, the worse the smell was. They finally uncovered the body as flies buzzed around and the smell of rotting flesh overwhelmed them. 

"You all right?" he asked her, genuinely concerned as she started coughing hard.

"Compared to what?" she asked as she tried to cover her nose.

He smiled a bit at her answer before asking her if she wanted him to get the wallet, despite his strong feelings that he wouldn't be able face another one his failures.

"No. I'll do it" she told him with a wave her hand.

She climbed into the grave, coughing and trying to breathe through her mouth, not her nose. She reached around the wallet to the marshal's pants pocket and Jack helped her to lift the man's body, looking away for a bit to cough himself. As soon as she pulled it out Jack dropped the body and the two clamored away from the heavy smell.

"Did you get it?" he asked her as he tried to breathe in fresh air.

"Yeah" she said breathing hard and still gagging on the smell.

She turned her back to him as he watched her closely, gasping when she opened the wallet and dropping it on the ground. Jack reached down and picked it up, seeing the maggots that had made her drop it in the first place. He reached into it and looked for the key but he came up empty.

"The key isn't in here" he said with a shake of his head, swallowing hard when he realized what she had done.

"It isn't?" she asked, trying to ignore the fact that she was feeling like she had just kicked a puppy.

He shook his head.

"No, but that was real good slight of hand distracting me with the wallet" he said, his heart feeling like it was literally breaking into tiny little pieces.

He grabbed her wrist tighter than he intended to and stared at her tightly closed fist.

"Open it" he gritted out through clenched teeth.

She opened her hand after a moment, refusing to meet his eye. He had been hoping he was wrong, but sure enough the little silver key lay in her hand. He shook his head in disappointment and swallowed the tears that had inadvertently risen in his throat. He grabbed the key from her hand and kept his head down, the pain of her betrayal overwhelming him.

"Jack, I…" she started to explain, hating herself more and more by the second.

"Don't" he said quietly, not trusting his voice to not reveal how close to tears he was. "Don't" he said, dropping her wrist roughly and walking away as she watched him leave through glistening eyes.

* * *

Jack stalked angrily towards the beach. He was going to end this once and for all. He felt so betrayed by Kate's deceit. He thought he could trust her. Even worse, he thought that she could trust him. She obviously didn't see him in the same light that he saw her. His anger only grew as he reached the beach and saw Sawyer take the cloth hanging from his shelter off. 

"Sawyer?" he growled out, pushing back the heartbreak he was feeling and deciding instead just to take out his anger on Sawyer.

"Doctor. So what can I do you for?" drawled Sawyer. He watched Jack point to the case before rolling his eyes and saying "Figured she'd get you to do her dirty work for her. So, what, we gonna wrestle for it?"

"No, you're gonna give it to me" Jack growled, a plan coming to mind.

"Am I?" asked Sawyer in amusement

"Yeah" Jack said, trying to keep the vindictive smirk off of his face.

"I'm just gonna give it to you?"

"Yeah" he repeated simply.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Cephalexin"

"Yeah? Go on"

"That's the antibiotic I've been giving you for the knife wound in your arm. You're right in the middle of a treatment cycle now; if I keep giving you the pills, you're gonna be as right as rain. But I'm gonna stop giving you the pills. And for two days you're gonna think you're all good. Then it's gonna start to itch. The day after that, the fever's gonna come and you're gonna start seeing red lines running up and down your arm" he described, taking a few glowering steps closer to Sawyer. "Day or two after that, you'll beg me to take the case just to cut off your arm."

"That's a nice story, Jack. And even if it were true, I don't think you could do it."

"You're wrong" Jack told him through clenched teeth, knowing that the betrayal that was eating away at his insides would render him capable of anything.

"She tell you what's inside?" asked Sawyer, barely noticing when Jack lightly shook his head. "Yeah, me neither" he said as he bent down and picked up the case. "Hope you got yourself some jaws of life back in cave town, 'cause that's what it's gonna take to pop this bitch"

"I'll figure something out" Jack told him as he tried to take the case but found Sawyer unwilling to let it go.

"I know you think you're doing her a favor, but however she talked you into doing this, she lied, brother. She's using your lovey dovey feelings to her advantage. She's playing you Jack- it's a con"

Jack said nothing but rather tugged harder on the case and Sawyer let go. He knew that in that moment, Kate was in fact using his feelings to her advantage. But he couldn't admit to himself that everything she said had been a lie. He knew that she felt something for him. He just desperately wanted to believe that Kate had a good reason for using him. And he was determined to find out just what it was.

* * *

Jack found her sitting on the beach with a far off look in her eyes as she stared at the water. He trudged over to her and she looked up as she heard him approach. 

"Jack?" she asked in surprise.

She had assumed that he would never forgive her and he would never speak to her again. She hadn't meant to hurt him, but she had been desperate and afraid. She just wanted to curl up in his arms and forget that all this had ever happened. But she couldn't get the contents of the case out of her mind, nor could she forget that wounded puppy look on Jack's face when he had made her open her hand.

"We're going to do this together" Jack told her, thrusting the case forward so she could see it.

"Why?" she asked in confusion, surprised that he had followed through and helped her out.

"Because that's what I said we'd do" he told her as he walked off without waiting for her.

Kate stood and shakily wiped the sand off of her pants before following Jack.

When they reached their destination, Jack looked up at her, knowing this was their last chance to keep air their dirty laundry to each other.

"Anything you want to tell me?" he asked but she didn't respond. "Alright then" he said as he opened the box, pulling out money, guns, and ammo before an envelope marked 'personal effects.' "Is this it? Is this what you wanted?" he asked her as he handed her the smaller envelope that was contained inside of it.

He watched in awe as she opened it and pulled out a small toy airplane that she stared at for a moment.

"What is it?" he asked her quietly, his anger dissipating for a moment as he thought of how much she looked like a small child in that one moment.

"It's nothing" she maintained.

"What is it Kate?" he asked, his anger returning.

"You wouldn't understand" she said without looking at him.

"I want the truth, just this once. What is it?" he snarled at her.

"It belonged to the man I loved" she stated in a shaky voice.

"The truth" he demanded again, his agitation growing with each lie she told.

"It belonged to the man I loved" she repeated in the same wounded voice.

"Stop lying and tell me the truth!" he growled.

"I'm not. It belonged to the man I killed!" she cried as her damn broke and her sobs came tumbling out.

Jack looked at her as she crumbled to the ground and sobbed so hard that the noise echoed loudly around. He watched her for a moment with a hard face. He didn't know what to make of her anymore. He had found himself forgetting that he had only known her for less than two weeks but as he watched her cry he remembered that they barely knew each other. He didn't know a thing about her and she didn't seem to be interested in telling him anything. Was Sawyer right? Was she just playing him? Knowing that he would say something he would just regret, he swallowed the urge to gather her in his arms and soothe her tears and instead bent down and closed the case, walking away and leaving her to her own misery.

Kate looked up when she heard Jack leave and she began to cry harder. She couldn't understand why she felt a need to push him away. She just wanted to crawl into his arms and beg him to hold her and forgive her. But she just couldn't do it. Thoughts of Jason and her fight to get back the toy plane rushed through her mind and she questioned what was wrong with her. Why couldn't she let that damn plane and everything it stood for go? The only thing she knew was that she couldn't let Jack get killed too. As much as she wanted to tell him everything, she knew that she would never be able to stand the look on his face when she confessed. She wanted him to forever see her as beautiful and unmarked and she couldn't tell him why she wasn't good enough for him and why he did the right thing by walking away. But it didn't make the fact that he was gone sting any less.

* * *

A/N: Next Chapter- Hearts and Minds: Expect some jungle traipsing, some tight quarters, and some more heat between Jack and Kate. And the return of the fluff! 


	7. Hearts and Minds

Alright, I know it's been a couple of months since I've updated but I haven't abandoned this. I've just been really busy. But I'm back to writing now so you can expect more updates soon. And like always, a lot of reviews motivate me to write more!

midnight-sk8r- Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you liked it.

Lau- Thanks for the review!

light-stick- I've been adding a lot more of my own thing, as per your request. This chapter and the next few stray from the script a bit more.

Hellmouth21- Thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter too.

One of those Girls- Thanks for reviewing. I wish it could be like this too, lol.

Ella Jullian- Sorry it took so long to update. I promise it'll get more frequent now.

noro- Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Hughfan- This chapter has lots of fluff, don't worry.

TheSaver- Thanks for your kind words. I wish the show had more Jate too.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Hearts and Minds**

For yet another two days, Jack and Kate avoided each other at all costs. They needed time to sort through their problems and come to terms with everything that had happened. They both knew that they were both at fault. Both of them had lied, screwed up, and mistreated the other. Now, they weren't sure who was going to make the first move but they both knew that they just wanted to make things right. So it was much to Kate's relief when she felt a familiar pair of eyes burning into her back as she gathered fruit and seeds. She smiled to herself as she felt Jack watch her and she felt safe again with her protector on the prowl. He looked at her longingly, trying to stop himself from running to her and knocking her to the ground with his kisses, deciding that that particular course of action would only rush things.

"I can see you there you know" she told him as she turned to him slightly; finally ready to give up on their game.

"I wasn't hiding, just didn't want to disrupt you from whatever it is you're doing" he said with a light laugh.

"It's not like it's a secret" she said and she immediately regretted her choice of words.

"Hard to tell with you sometimes" he retorted but instantly felt bad when he saw her face fall. "Look, Kate, I'm sorry. We've just been fighting so much lately and I just want things to go back to normal with us. I care about you so much and I don't want to lose you. Whatever happened in the past, happened. For both of us. We can't change it and we can't bother the other about it. And I'm sorry for…"

"For what?" she asked him as he trailed off, walking slightly closer to her.

He looked down at his feet in shame, unable to meet her eye.

"For making you cry. And then for leaving you there. I'm supposed to be the one who soothes away your tears, not the one who puts them there in the first place" he said, still looking down at the ground.

"Come here" she said as she walked closer to him and buried her head in his chest as he held her closer. "I was wrong too. I shouldn't have used you like that. I deserved to cry. You didn't deserve to be hurt like that. I should be the one apologizing" she told him.

"Let's just stop apologizing to each other and forget about it. I don't ever want to hurt you again" he told her.

"Same" she agreed as she lightly tilted his chin up and moved her lips to his.

The two shared a long kiss yet it was not filled with the "gotta have you right now" passion that most of their other kisses were filled with. It was filled with promises, apologies, trust, and understanding. It was slow and soft and it just felt right for them. Jack went to deepen the kiss and take her other hand that wasn't holding the back of his neck but she made a noise and pulled away from him.

"Careful" she said, pulling back slightly but still remaining in his arm span.

"Huh, gross little, grayish-yellow things" he said looking at what was in her hand.

"Passion fruit seeds" she told him with a grin.

"What are they for?" asked Jack as he played with a strand of her hair.

"I'll show you. If you want to see?" she asked, suddenly feeling like a lighthearted little girl again.

"Yeah" he said, a broad smile on his face as he took her outstretched hand.

"Follow me" she told him as the two walked through the jungle.

"Please tell me you found a coffee bar" he begged her with a laugh.

"Not quite. Sorry baby" she told him as she gave him a small kiss before they reached their destination.

They finally came across a clearing with the start of a large garden in it.

"When did you do all this?" he asked her in shock.

"I didn't. It was all Sun. I just wandered into this place the other day when I was out picking fruit" she told him as she smiled at his look of wonder.

"This is beautiful. It's great" he told Sun, his happiness spreading as he realized that it was going to be a good day.

"She planted some herbs and some low growing stuff here. And then she started a grove over there" Kate told him excitedly as she pointed it all out.

"Smart. With the boar running out we're going to need as much food as we can possibly get" he agreed, thrilled to see his girlfriend beaming.

"Maybe it's not running out" she said softly, not wanting to break the mood but needing to express her concerns as well.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"Maybe Locke's just decided not to catch it for us anymore"

"Why would he do that?"

"A lot of mouths to feed. If the boar's running out then why should he feed everyone else at his own expense?" she told him. "I don't mean to worry you. It's just that I've been thinking about this for a few days but it wasn't like we were exactly speaking and then… look, I'm sure its nothing"

"No, you may be right. How 'bout it, wanna do a little boar reconnaissance with me?"

"Boar recon or Locke recon?" she asked as she raised one eyebrow.

"Maybe a little bit of both" he responded grimly.

"Sure! It's been a few days since we've been traipsing in the jungle" she said. "Lemme just finish up with Sun here. Meet me back at the caves in a half an hour?" she asked him.

"Works for me" he said as he gave her a kiss goodbye and started to walk away. "Oh! And by the way, I don't traipse" he said as he turned around to face her once more.

"Of course not" she told him. "You're my manly man"

"Damn straight" he answered and she laughed a bit, making Jack pleased that he was still able to put a smile on her face.

* * *

Half an hour later, Kate stumbled toward the caves. She was still reeling from the information that Sun had shared with her. She spoke English. But that wasn't even the part that was bothering Kate the most. Sun's question echoed in her mind. 

"Have you never lied to a man you've loved?"

Kate hadn't been able to answer Sun, but rather had shakily stood up and told her she had to go before running off. Both parts of the question had bothered her. First of all, did she love Jack? She knew that she felt strongly about him, but was it love? She had loved Tom. Or at least she thought she did. She wasn't even sure what she felt now. What she felt for Tom was so different from what she felt for Jack. With Jack, there was passion and comfort at the same time. Did that mean love? She knew that she could never live without him. Those few days without him had been hell. Pushing aside the thoughts of love she thought back to the rest of the question. Sun was keeping a huge secret from Jin, the man she was supposed to love more than anything. Kate didn't doubt that Sun loved him, but why the secrets than? Was it ok to keep certain things from one another in a relationship? Was she that wrong for not relying on full disclosure when it came to her past and Jack? Sun seemed to think so. Kate shook her head to try and clear her thoughts and instead focused her attention on Sayid's words as she reached the caves. Sayid was talking to Jack, asking him a question.

"Let me ask you something… which way do you think North is?" Sayid asked him.

"Sorry?" Jack asked in confusion, not focusing on Sayid but rather his jungle date with Kate.

"North? Which way is it?" Sayid pressed.

"Okay" Jack said, starting to get a bit bored with what Sayid was getting at. "The sun's going to set over there, so that makes that West" he said pointing one way. "That'd be North. Yeah" he said as he pointed in a different direction.

"Correct. That's where North should be" he said as he pulled out the compass that Locke gave him and showed it to Jack. "Yet that is North" Sayid said as he pointed in another direction.

"No, that's definitely North" said Kate as she came up to the two men, her curiosity piqued.

She smiled as Jack threaded his arm around her waist and she rested her head against his chest, trying not to get over affectionate when Sayid was in the middle of explaining something that was obviously of great importance.

"A minor magnetic anomaly might explain a variance of 2 or 3 degrees, but not this" Sayid told them sullenly.

"What are you saying?" Jack asked slowly.

"I'm saying this compass is obviously defective" Sayid said in a serious tone.

"Where'd you get it?" said Kate as she laughed and rolled her eyes at how serious Sayid had been about it.

"Locke gave it to me this afternoon" he told them.

"Locke? Where'd you see Locke?" asked Jack in interest.

Sayid pointed them in the right direction and Jack and Kate filled up some water bottles and started to hike toward in the direction of Locke's supposed location.

* * *

They walked most of the way in comfortable silence, holding each others hands and falling into a rhythm with one another. 

"I'm going on a Locke hunt and I'm bringing arrows" said Kate out of the blue, a grin on her face.

"What?" asked Jack as he looked sideways at her.

"You never played that game as a kid? You say 'I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing…' and then you go through all the letters of the alphabet. But since we're on a search for Locke, I changed it to a 'Locke hunt' and I'm bring arrows to shoot the angry, charging boar" she told him with a smile.

"Ohhhh, I know this game" he told her with a smile of his own. "Let's see. I'm going on a Locke hunt and I'm bringing a… butterfly net" said Jack and Kate laughed.

"Make sure it's a big enough net for a boar" she told him.

"Who said anything about a boar?" Jack teased her. "I was planning on using it to catch the escaped asylum patient known as John Locke."

"Babe, we're gonna need an elephant tranquilizer to catch that man" she told him through her laughter.

"Yes, but we're not up to 'e' yet" he told her insistently.

"You're right" she said as she continued to laugh.

"This is nice" he told her.

"What?" she asked him. "Thinking of new and creative ways to capture Locke?"

"No, I mean just listening to each other laugh. I love the sound of your laugh. It just makes everything ok" he told her.

She stopped walking and instead reached up to kiss him.

"Just being around you makes everything ok" she told him.

He pulled her closer and kissed her harder. They forgot about where they were for a moment and lost themselves into each other. Jack found himself reaching up her shirt and cupping her breast in his hand through her thin bra. She raised her arms for him obediently and he slid her shirt off of her before starting to take off his shirt as well. She brushed his hands away and removed the offending article of clothing herself. Their kisses deepened even more and he pulled her tightly to him, his hands reaching around her bra to unhook the clasp. He was sliding it off of her arms, getting a view of her supple breasts when all the sudden they heard a noise in the jungle.

"What was that?" she asked him breathlessly as she pulled away from him slightly.

"I don't know" he whispered back. "But I have a feeling it's not going to fit in a butterfly net" he said, trying not to let her show how nervous he was as he rehooked her bra clasp and bent down to pick up their shirts.

The noise got closer and the two locked eyes.

"Run!" Jack yelled, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her along, both shoving their shirts half in their pockets, neither bothering to put them on.

They both ran like there was no tomorrow as they were chased. Jack let go of Kate's hand, knowing it would be easier for her to run without him half dragging her. They were speeding along when all of the sudden Jack heard a grunt from behind him. He turned his head around and gasped in fear. Kate had tripped over a root and was lying on the ground, struggling to get up. He didn't even think of the danger he was putting himself in as he turned around and ran toward her, scooping her small body up into his arms and running with her cradled to him. All that mattered was that Kate was safe.

"In there" Kate cried, her voice tinged with pain as she pointed to a space in between some root -like trees.

Jack ran into the small space and held Kate closer to him as they remained perfectly quiet. Kate buried her head into the crook of Jack's neck and he could feel her heartbeat against his own chest, beating fast and erratically.

"Shh, it's ok" he told her as he peppered kisses on her bare shoulder.

He suddenly became painfully aware of how much bare skin was touching between the two of them but the tightening of Kate's arms around him in fear reminded him of their dire situation. They finally heard what sounded like a retreat of their pursuer and they both let out a breath of relief.

"We should probably wait here for a few more minutes" Jack whispered to her and she just nodded in response. "What hurts baby?" he asked her tenderly.

"My ankle. I think I twisted it" she whimpered.

"Shh, I'll take care of it" he promised her as he gently kissed her and pulled her even closer to him. "Stand here and put your weight on my shoulders" he told her as he gently put her down and kneeled so that he was able to reach her ankle better.

She did as she was told and watched him roll up her pants leg to inspect her ankle. Her fingers were digging into his bare shoulders as she balanced on one foot and she couldn't help but inspect his chest. She had seen him shirtless often, and had even slept next to him while wasn't wearing one, but she had never only been clad in her thin bra while he was bare-chested before. The memory of his large hands cupping her breasts before refused to leave her memory. He continued to inspect her ankle oblivious to the dirty thoughts in her mind. She let out a hiss of pain as he rotated it a bit and he mumbled an apology before planting a small kiss on it, instantly feeling bad for already breaking his promise to never cause her any pain again.

"What's the diagnosis, Doc?" she asked him quietly.

"A slight twist" he told her. "You just need to keep it straight and wrapped in something and try to stay off it for a few days"

"Nice, my very own leafy cast" she said sarcastically.

"I don't think leaves are going to cut it. Here" he said as he ripped his shirt into strips and began to tie it around her ankle. "That should do it" he said, his fingers traveling up her ankle to brush her bare calf. His fingers lingered for a moment before he uncuffed her pants leg and pulled it back down. She held on to the tree branches and he stood up again.

"I think it's safe to go" he said reluctantly.

"Yeah, probably" she told him, still bracing herself against the tree roots.

"I really do want to stay here" he said, playing with her hair and caressing her face, "but I also really don't want to get eaten" he said with a playful smile he said as he took her shirt from where it was hanging in her pocket and gently placed it back over her.

"No, me neither" she told him as she slid her arms into the shirt and then let go of the branches and instead leaned against him.

"Come on princess, your royal chariot awaits" he told her as he scooped her up into his arms again as she giggled.

"I can walk you know. I just can't put too much pressure on my ankle but I'll be fine" she told him.

"Nope, gotta stay off it. Doctor's orders" he told her with a smirk.

"Oh really?" she asked with a suggestive grin as she nibbled at him, kissing his whole face, his neck, and his exposed chest.

"Well if you keep doing that I'm going to drop you" he said with a groan.

"Alright" she said as she stopped and pulled back.

"On second thought, sometimes a good dropping sorts these ankle problems right out" he told her with a smirk. "So you should probably keep doing that"

"Doctor's orders?" she asked him.

"Doctor's orders" he affirmed.

* * *

Jack carried her back the whole way to the beach. Once they reached camp, they were met with a few strange looks but most of the survivors didn't seem surprised by the sight. 

"Well isn't this just adorable?" sneered Sawyer as he saw them.

"It is adorable, isn't it?" Kate asked with a smile as she nuzzled noses with Jack.

"Doc, I think I'm coming down with something" said Sawyer bitingly. "I've got the sudden urge to vomit and my eyes are burning"

"I think that you've got a bad case of jealousy" Jack said with a smirk.

"With just a touch of cynicism" added Kate.

"Who died and made you a doctor" snarled Sawyer.

"She's my nurse" Jack told him.

"Oh am I?" asked Kate suggestively.

"Well, while you two are making googly eyes and ba…some other stuff, I'm gonna go throw up" said Sawyer as he stalked off.

"Make sure you cover it with a leaf after" Kate called after him as Jack laughed.

"Thanks Dr. Quinn" he called back over his shoulder.

"Aww, were we mean to Sawyer?" Kate asked Jack as she wrapped her arms even tighter around him.

"Remember that time he tried to trick you into kissing him?" asked Jack.

"Excellent point" Kate said with a growl and Jack laughed at her and kissed her again.

"Get out your butterfly net nurse, we've got a patient to catch" Jack said as he looked up.

Kate followed his gaze to the edge of the ocean and her eyes narrowed as she saw Locke, suddenly remembering the whole point of their little expedition into the jungle.

"Alright, so are we police officers now? Who's the good cop and who's the bad for this little interrogation?" Kate asked him.

"I like when we role play" said Jack with an impish grin. "Maybe we should perfect these roles later on in my cave"

Kate blushed and laughed at him.

"When you say cave like that I think of you in animal skins carrying a big club" she giggled.

"If that's what you want baby" he said, the grin still on his face.

"Jack! We really need to go talk to Locke" she reminded him. "There'll be time for 'googley eyes and other stuff' later" she promised him.

"Fine" he grumbled as he started toward Locke with Kate still firmly held in his arms.

"Umm, Jack?" she questioned.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"Maybe you should find a shirt first" she said with a giggle.

"Right, good point" he said as she buried her face into his bare chest so he didn't see how red it was.

* * *

"Any ships?" asked Jack as they approached Locke after he found a shirt to borrow. 

"Not yet. But I'm patient" said Locke as he turned around. "Is Kate ok?" he asked.

"I just twisted my ankle, I'm fine" she told him.

"Mind if we join you? It's been awhile since you and I talked, John" said Jack as he lightly put Kate down in the sand and sat next to her.

"Well, you're a busy man" Locke told him. "And you always seem to be busy too Kate"

"So are you. Where's Boone?" she asked him.

"I haven't seen him today" Locke said nonchalantly.

"Yeah? You two have been attached at the hip all week" replied Jack, trying to maintain Locke's calm and collected attitude.

"Well, let me just check my hip . . . nope, no Boone" joked Locke, but neither Jack nor Kate laughed.

"How's the boar hunting going?" asked Kate.

"Between the three of us?" Locke asked.

"Always" responded Jack and Kate nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm afraid they're beginning to migrate outside our valley. They're smart animals, and smart animals adapt quickly when a new predator is introduced into their environment"

"You mean us?" asked Jack.

"The most dangerous predator of all" Locke responded as he looked back at the water and Jack and Kate shared a pointed look.

"We'll leave you be" said Kate as Jack helped her up and swept her into his arms again.

"I can walk" she assured him.

"Positive?" he asked.

"With a little help I'll be fine" she said with a strained smile and Jack could tell she wanted to get away from Locke.

"Feel better Kate" John called back to them as she and Jack hobbled away, Kate leaning heavily on her boyfriend.

"I don't trust him" Kate said once they were out of his earshot.

"Me neither. Something's going on" Jack agreed.

"He was lying. I could tell" she told him with a sigh.

"We'll get to the bottom of this. Don't worry" he told her with a kiss to her temple. "Wanna keep playing cops?" he asked her.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked back.

* * *

A few minute later, the two were standing over Charlie. Kate's heart broke for him when she saw how shattered he looked. She instinctively clung tighter to Jack. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like to go through what Charlie had. 

"I have that aspirin you asked for Charlie" said Jack as he fished it out of his pocket. "You know, for that headache"

"Cheers" said Charlie as he took it and swallowed it dry.

"Haven't seen you around the caves lately" Jack commented.

"I needed a change of scenery" Charlie answered bitterly.

"How are you doing, Charlie?" asked Kate compassionately.

"How am I doing? With week 3 of heroin withdrawal? Which, by the way Kate, is the reason Jack is willing to deplete the aspirin supply. I could deal with a plain old run of the mill headache without it. Or how am I doing with Claire being abducted by the freak who tried to kill me?"

"Well, I did give you the aspirin for the heroine withdrawal. So I guess it's the other one" said Jack softly as he tried to lighten the situation.

Charlie just grunted in response.

"What do you think his story is?" asked Kate with a nod toward John, desperate to change the subject.

"Who? Locke? The guy's a freak of nature. Highly disturbed. Chances are he probably killed all his mates at the post office the day his mum forgot to put a cookie in his lunch tin. That was my first impression, anyway. Then he saved my life"

"So you trust him?" asked Jack

"Trust him? No offense, mate, but if there's one person on this island I would put my absolute faith in to save us all it would be John Locke" Charlie said. "Now, if we're done with the island gossip, I'm going to go lie down. Why is the sun so bloody bright?" he mumbled as he walked into his tent.

"So that got us…" started Kate.

"No where" finished Jack. "We'll get to the bottom of this. We will"

"I hope you're right" she told him.

"Let's go back to the caves" he said with a sigh.

"It's an awful long walk for me to hobble" she lamented.

"I can take care of that" said Jack as he lifted her into his arms again.

"Maybe you should get me one of those bed things that four hot shirtless men carry around as they feed the princess grapes while she lounges around, seeing her royal subjects. I'm the princess of course, and maybe you, Sawyer, and Sayid can carry me around. But we need one more guy. How 'bout Hurley?" she asked with a grin.

"You're a sick, sick individual" he told her lightheartedly as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't be mean to Hurley" she reprimanded him.

"I wasn't. I was being mean to you. You little brat" he told her, cutting off her protests with kisses.

* * *

"Jack! I'm tired. I wanna go to bed" she called from within the cave. 

Jack had deposited her in the cave long ago and had hurried off to take care of god knows what, telling her to wait up for him just a bit longer. Finally, he returned to the cave upon hearing her incessant demands for him.

"Put out your hand. You'll like it, I swear" he said as Kate gave him a skeptical look.

"Gross little grayish-yellow thingies?" she asked looking into her hand after he deposited something into it.

"Oh, no, no, no, these are slimy little bluish-black thingies" he said, sounding awfully proud of himself.

"Guava seeds!" she exclaimed happily.

"What's a garden without guava?" he asked her.

"Thank you, I love them" she said as she gently put them down next to her. "You know, this is the first gift you've ever gotten me"

"Pivotal point in the relationship" he agreed.

"I was hoping for something a bit shinier" she joked.

"You mean like your very own hunting knife?" he teased.

"All the girls at the country club will be so jealous" she said in a mock haughty voice. "They only get diamonds but I get a hunting knife"

"Only the best for you babe" he told her as he kissed her and the two fell back on to the floor, kissing and groping and getting lost in each other.

* * *

Next Chapter- _Special_. Expect some Jate lusting. 


	8. Special

So I'm still deciding whether or not to continue this story. I'm not sure if anyone's reading it and I haven't gotten too many reviews. It's fine if it's not that popular but I'm not sure if I'm going to take the time to keep writing it unless I get better reception. So if you are reading it just let me know so I have a better idea.

Thanks to Dani3la, Philadelphia, and Hellmouth21 for taking the time to review.

Just a warning, this chapter gets slightly steamier, but it's nothing too graphic.

* * *

**Chapter 8- Special**

"You sure you can carry it all?" Jack asked as he shot a sideways glance towards Kate.

"Yes Jack" she said with a roll of her eyes. "For the gazzillionth time, I can carry a few sticks."

"I'm just worried about your ankle" he told her.

"My ankle is fine now. You patched it all up" she reminded him.

The two had gone out collecting firewood and Jack had fussed the whole time, worried that she was going to further hurt herself. Although her ankle was throbbing a bit, she didn't want to pass up a chance to spend some time with him, even if it did involve the work of collecting wood.

As they walked through the jungle they ran into Michael and Hurley. Michael immediately ran over to them, a look of unease on his face.

"Hey, Jack, Kate, you see my boy when you were out there?" he asked them, trying to remain calm.

"No, he was at the caves" Jack told him.

"Yeah, he took his dog for a walk. I told him to stay close, as usual. You listened to your old man when you were 10, right?" Michael asked.

"Uh, yeah, I listened. Maybe a little too well" said Jack lightly and Kate shot him a sympathetic glance while she just snorted in response to Michael's question.

"Yo, dudes. Got a new tourney lined up. We're playing for the last of the deodorant sticks. You dogs up for some golf?" asked Hurley as he came up to them.

"I have to go find my kid. Hey, if Walt shows up, you tell him I said stay right here until I get back" said Michael, his look becoming increasingly worried.

"You got it" Kate told him.

"Walt! Walt!" he cried as he ran deeper into the jungle.

"He seems to hate it, doesn't he?" asked Hurley.

"What?" asked Jack.

"Being a dad" Hurley replied.

"No, it's just a lot of hard work" Jack said as he tried to defend Michael.

"No. He hates it" Hurley said as Kate gave him a half smile and she and Jack continued to the beach.

"You ok?" Kate asked Jack after a few moments.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked her with a hint of a forced smile.

"Well, that whole thing with your dad. You said you listened to him too well"

"He wanted me to be a doctor. So I was a doctor. He wanted me to go to Columbia. So I went to Columbia" he explained.

"You let your father live through you" Kate said with a sigh.

"Exactly. What about you, between the hunts with your father you never listened to him?" Jack teased with a smile.

"It was complicated" said Kate, her gaze cast down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Let's change the subject" Jack told her as the two continued their walk.

* * *

Later that day, Jack and Kate were lazing around by the caves, glad for once to be enjoying a low-key day. Suddenly, Sayid came up to them with a pile of papers in his hands.

"What's up Sayid?" asked Kate as she looked at the stacks of paper in his hands.

"I need to show you something" he told them as he started to spread the papers out. Once I realized these equations were coordinates, latitude and longitude, I assumed the French woman was trying to determine the location of the island. But it was incomplete, the notations fragmented" he explained as Shannon came up behind him.

"Except for the fish song" Shannon added and Sayid agreed with her.

"The what?" Jack asked, but he was ignored.

"But when I laid the pages down like this" he said as he laid the papers down differently and formed a triangle, "I realized it wasn't showing the location of the island. I think it's a location on the island. Specifically, here" he said as he pointed.

"So where are we in relation to the triangle?" asked Kate.

"Well, the map is hardly in scale, so I don't know" Sayid told them with a sigh.

"We're not even sure it's a map of this island, are we?" asked Jack.

"We're not, no. But this may be the transmitter sending out the distress call. And its power source" Sayid explained to them, his excitement starting to get to him.

"What are we talking about doing now?" asked Michael as he walked over to them. "Looking for another excuse to get chased down and killed by whatever lives in the jungle? Guys, we can't keep doing this. Building water filtration systems? Playing golf? Making a sweet little home here? We need to get off this island" he cried.

"You think any of us wants to be here?" Shannon asked, her hands on her hips.

"No, but I don't think anyone wants to get off as much as I do right now" Michael gritted out.

"So, are you suggesting something?" asked Jack as he turned to look at Michael.

"Yeah, we build a raft" Michael said determinedly.

"A raft?" asked Sayid incredulously.

"Look, don't say it like that, man. We need a little optimism here, okay? And we've got to do something because let's be honest, no one's coming. Those seats we took off the fuselage, they float. We've got an axe, and a whole bunch of trees, bamboo. We can do this" Michael asserted.

"The chances of surviving the rough waters? The odds of finding a shipping lane?" lamented Sayid.

"And I get really sea-sick" Shannon joked, eager to come to Sayid's aide.

"You know what? Great. Stay here. Grow old. Good luck to you, but I'm doing this. My son and I are leaving. Anybody that wants to help us build, God bless you" bit out Michael as he left them all behind to stare at him.

"Are we all going to start going crazy, one by one?" asked Shannon, "just like him?"

"I wouldn't worry about it" Sayid assured her. "Come, I'll escort you back to the beach" he told her and Shannon smiled widely. "Jack, Kate, think about what we told you" he reminded them before he and Shannon walked off.

"A raft?" asked Jack as he turned to Kate.

"But more importantly, what's going on with those two?" asked Kate as they watched Sayid and Shannon walk off.

"Forgetting about the gossip for a second…" Jack reminded her.

"Right, a raft. I dunno. It doesn't seem very feasible" she said as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"You don't want to leave here, do you?" he asked her as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her instead.

"It's not that I don't want to leave" she said a she laid her head back against his chest. "It's just that I don't want to go back there" she confessed.

"Remember Kate, I'm going to keep you safe, even when we get back there" he said as he turned her around in his arms so that she was facing him.

"The second we get back to civilization, whether it's the moment I step off of a raft or an airplane, I'm going to be arrested Jack" she told him as she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"It's going to be ok" he said as he tilted her head up lightly. "I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me."

She looked into his eyes and then kissed him hard, willing herself to believe that what he was saying was true.

* * *

Kate was still replaying her conversation with Jack over and over in her mind when she reached the beach. She looked over and saw Charlie furiously going through Claire's bags that she had brought there that morning. After a brief talk with Charlie, she discovered that someone had taken Claire's diary. Of course, she knew who it was. She assured Charlie to wait for her and they would take care of it but Charlie seemed unwilling to wait. She managed to convince him and then she hurried off to find Jack. She found him chopping firewood in a clearing in the jungle. Her mouth watered as her eyes combed over his bare chest and she had to take a moment to regain her composure before she walked over to him.

"Hi" he said breathlessly, putting down the axe and leaning over to kiss her. "Sorry, I'm a bit sweaty" he apologized.

"Its fine" she said as she felt her face flush.

"You ok" he asked her as he turned completely to look at her so he could brush a stray curl from her face.

"I'm fine. It's just… Charlie" she said as she reminded herself of the business at hand.

"Is he ok?" asked Jack with a slight frown.

"He's fine. Well, physically at least. He thinks someone took Claire's diary" she explained.

"Why do I have a feeling that I know exactly who this 'someone' is?" asked Jack with a sigh.

"You've got three guesses and I know you're not going to need them all. I thought it would be best if you helped us to handle this one. No one will get murdered this way. At least I hope" she said with a distracted sigh.

Jack was truly touched. Kate had actually come to him for help without a hidden agenda. He knew at that moment that their relationship was truly progressing. She felt safe with him and she wanted his help because she knew she could depend on him, not because she was scheming. He trailed his fingers over her waist and slowly pulled her closer to him so she resting against his bare, sweaty chest. He gently kissed her lips and she opened her mouth to provide him with greater access. He started sucking on her lips as though they were his life force and she reached up and wrapped her arms around him to better hold herself close to him. Jack reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers and started trailing kisses down her neck. She moaned and tilted her head up, encouraging his playful nips and calming kisses. He reached down and picked up the hem of her shirt, lightly tugging at it, silently asking for permission to remove it. She lifted her arms up as a sign of approval and he slid the material up over her head and threw it behind him. He continued his kisses down her arms, sliding her bra straps off and sucking on the sweet skin hidden beneath them. He reached around her and unclasped her bra before removing it completely. The kisses got more intense as he dropped lower and lower, dropping to his knees and cradling her body closer to hers as he kissed and sucked at her flat stomach, teasing her breasts with his kisses as well. His fingers found their way to the waistband of her pants but she moaned and pulled back.

"No, me first" she told him, her voice coming out as little more than a breathy whisper.

She tugged him up and he stood as Kate mimicked his earlier actions and started kissing his bare chest. He moaned appreciatively as well and his heart skipped a beat as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Her fingers went to the waistband of his jeans and she unfastened them, gently tugging them down, sliding them over his budding erection and then his hips and down his legs. She looked up at him with a devious smile before her fingers latched into the waist of his boxers. She kissed his lower stomach before she slowly removed the boxers, releasing him from any confines. She smirked at how turned on he was for her and kissed his stomach once more.

A little later, both Jack and Kate were breathing hard. Kate's mouth had worked wonders on him and he couldn't remember ever feeling so content. He had wanted to return the favor but he was surprised when she refused.

"This isn't about me" she told him with a gentle kiss and he could taste himself on her.

Both Jack and Kate remained snuggled into each other for a little longer, but reality soon hit them.

"We still need to deal with Sawyer and Claire's diary" Kate reminded Jack as she rolled over in his arms.

"Yeah, Charlie deserves our help" Jack agreed reluctantly.

He would have preferred to stay wrapped up in Kate's arms all day long, lying on the jungle floor. But he could imagine how Charlie was feeling. If Kate was missing, he wouldn't be able to just let her go either.

* * *

After dealing with Sawyer, Kate and Jack got the diary back for Charlie. That night, back at the camp, Michael and Walt seemed happy to be reunited again. Jack thought back to his father. Nothing had ever been good enough for Christian Shepherd. Michael seemed to be the opposite way. He was desperate for his son's approval. As Jack watched them, he realized they would be ok. Jack on the other hand wasn't sure if he could ever make peace with his father. He was startled from his thoughts by a hand on his arm.

"You ok?" Kate asked as he turned to look at her.

"I'm fine" he assured her with a smile.

Before Kate could further push, Charlie came running up to them, waving Claire's diary. As he explained about the Black Rock to the two of them and Sayid, Jack became more apprehensive. Charlie wanted to rush out into the night but Jack managed to talk him down.

As he and Kate crawled into their makeshift bed that night, they were both quiet and lost in their thoughts.

"We'll find her, right?" questioned Kate.

"We'll find her" Jack assured her as he pulled her small frame closer to his broad one.

He really hoped he wasn't lying to Kate, but he knew that he couldn't let her worry either. He kissed the top of her head and the two fell into restless sleeps, Jack's dreams plagued with worrisome images of Kate going missing too.

* * *

Next Chapter?- Jack and Kate fear for each other's safety as Claire's return brings danger to the castaways. Throw in some guns and Ethan, and there'll be trouble.

Lemme know if it's worth posting by reviewing!


	9. Homecoming

Thank you everyone for the great reviews. I'm glad that I still have readers and people still like it. If everyone keeps up the reviews, I'll definitely try and update at least once a week, time permitting of course.

ainsleyhayes- thanks for reviewing. I wish the show was more Jatey too. But all the jexual tension is there at least.

Philadelphia- I hope to continue with this story on a regular basis. I really don't want to abandon it because I have big plans for the future and it makes it easier to write when I know people like you are reading it.

jate4me- thank you so much. I'm glad you like it.

lostie21- Thanks. I hope you stay with me until the very end.

Hellmouth21- The truth is, I took the easy way out, lol. I tried to get into more of the details but it started sounding kinda cheesy. Thanks for always reviewing.

Ella Jullian- I'm glad you like my story. Just to clarify there hasn't been any actual jex yet but they have gotten very, very close. ;)

Wanda- I'm so glad you found my story. Thanks for reviewing.

HeatherUTSA2003- Thank you for reviewing. I hope you keep reading!

lostgemini687- I'm glad you discovered my story. It's good to know I keep getting new readers. Tell your friends, lol.

Adi- I miss the good old days too. I'm going back and revisiting the old episodes and re-watching the Jate scenes and I forgot that the show was so amazing even in the beginning. I can't believe how much has changed too.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and remember, keep 'em up and I'll keep reviewing.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Homecoming**

"You alright?" Kate asked Jack, her fingers massaging the tight, taut muscles of his back.

He gave a little shrug and scrubbed a hand over his face, his gaze still on the ocean before him.

"It'll be alright" she assured him, resting her forehead on his back as her fingers worked the lower muscles.

"Do you think he sent her?" asked Jack as he turned to face her.

Kate sighed and stared at the ocean instead of her boyfriend who stood before her. The night before, Claire had returned to them. Her selective amnesia did seem suspect, and Sayid was fairly suspicious of it. Jack and Kate both generally trusted Sayid, though what he was saying did seem like a stretch.

"Mind control, amnesia… it's all a little too much for me to process" Kate told him as she turned back to face him.

She reached a hand up and rubbed her finger against the stubble on his cheek. She turned her head to the side and looked at his tired face.

"You can't save everyone Jack" she said softly.

He gave her a half smile and lifted his own hand to gently stroke her wrist. It was such a Kate thing to say and it warmed him. She smiled back at him and the two stood there for a moment, basking in the sunlight and each other's presence. Jack opened his mouth, about to say something, when they were interrupted by Charlie charging at them.

Charlie immediately started going on about how Ethan attacked him and Jin and demanded that he bring Claire back to him. Locke had come over upon seeing Charlie so filled with rage and he, Kate, and Jack listened as Charlie explained it all to them.

"So, what do we do?" asked Locke.

"What do we do? We go out and we bloody kill him!" yelled Charlie.

"Calm down, Charlie. We don't want the others to get upset and. . ." reasoned Locke.

"Forget the others" Charlie demanded. "He's out there right now, Locke!"

Jack watched as Charlie became more enraged. He couldn't blame the man. If someone was threatening Kate and demanding that he hand her over, Jack would want to go kill the man with his bare hands too.

"I think he's right" Jack said as he turned to Locke. "A man threatens to kill one of us unless we bring him Claire, and what, we just wait for that to happen? We tracked him once before, we can track him again."

"You both seem to have forgotten how that turned out" said Locke with a shake of his head. "He bested you physically" Locke said as he turned to Jack, causing Kate to raise one eyebrow in a defensive stance. "He hung you from a tree" Locke said as he turned to Charlie. "Running into the jungle unarmed is not going to get the job done"

"So what does get it done?" asked Kate. "We can't just sit around and do nothing. If we're prepared for Ethan, we can take him this time" she said as she slipped her hand in to Jack's.

"We should circle the wagons, tell a select few about the threat. We post sentries here and back at the caves" Locke explained calmly.

"Tell a select few?" scoffed Jack. "He does what he says he's going to do and that blood's on our hands"

As Jack and Locke argued over the best plan of action, Kate started to think about the last time they had faced Ethan. She remembered running over to Jack and seeing his prone body lying there after he had fallen off the cliff. Whether or not he had actually faced Ethan or he had just imagined it, he was pretty beat up and Kate never wanted to see him like that again. She liked to think that Jack could beat anyone, and one look at his muscular arms solidified that thought for her. But the thought of risking Jack's life was too much to bear. Something else had to be done. But what?

* * *

Kate went out to gather fruit after listening to Jack warn her about 97 times not to stray too far from the caves. Truthfully, the fruit supply was fine. Kate just needed time to think. After a few minutes, her thoughts were collected and she returned back to the caves. She knew Jack would be worrying about her the whole time and she wanted to return as quickly as possible to show him that she was fine.

"You look hungry" she told him as she approached him, throwing him a piece of fruit.

He smiled and she knew it was more about her presence than the actual fruit she had just given him.

"Thanks" he told her as she walked over to him and sat down on the log next to him.

She looked at the knife he had been sharpening and was now using to cut open the fruit. He passed her a piece and she sucked on the juice for a second, thinking of the best way to say what she had to.

"Why do you think he wants her back?" she asked him, instead of saying what she really wanted to.

"I don't know" he answered truthfully.

He honestly couldn't fathom what Ethan wanted from Claire. She was just an innocent, pregnant woman. Kate twirled a piece of her hair around her finger, her eyes refusing to meet Jack's, and he knew that she was about to say something that he didn't want to hear.

"Maybe it's time you use that key you've been wearing around your neck" she started slowly. "There are 4 nine millimeters in the Marshal's case…" she said, trailing off as Jack interrupted her.

"Uh-uh. No. I hand them out, someone hears something out in the jungle and gets scared, the chances of us shooting each other are much higher than of us shooting him" he told her vehemently, his fear senses heightening.

"We're beyond sharpening knives here, Jack!" she exclaimed, wondering why he couldn't see how important it was.

"I am not putting guns in untrained hands" he snapped, and Kate looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so harsh" he immediately apologized in a gentle and soothing tone. "But someone can get really hurt" he said, using one hand to tilt her head up so their eyes met.

"Jack, someone is going to get really hurt if we don't do something" she begged him.

"I know. I know that" he said, his frustration taking over. "I don't know what to do Kate" he confessed. "I have to keep everyone safe. I have to keep you safe" he stressed. "But I can't let you or anyone else get hurt because I gave out guns and someone got trigger happy. There has to be another way."

Kate looked into his tired eyes and knew that he was trying his best. She gently kissed his lips and nuzzled her nose into his.

"We'll find another way" she acquiesced with a reluctant sigh.

She could tell how much it was tearing him up and she didn't want to make it worse.

"Thank you" he told her as he wrapped his arms around her.

Kate snuggled into his embrace and buried her head in his chest. For a second, everything was still. That is, everything except for the minds of the two lovers hugging. Both minds were racing with thoughts of what could happen, and what would happen.

* * *

Unfortunately, Ethan hadn't been bluffing.

"I gave Locke a gun" he told her the next day after Scott's funeral.

He found her by the waterfall, pretending to fill up water bottles but really just staring into space with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Good" she answered emotionlessly.

"Kate…" he started.

"Don't" she said as she turned around and held up one hand. "He killed one of us Jack. He murdered one of us in cold blood. What's to stop him from killing again? Guns or no guns, people are going to die."

"Maybe not" he said as he walked closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. "We can stop him Kate. We'll all be safe" he assured her.

"I just can't believe Ethan killed one of us" she said with a sigh as she relaxed into his arms.

"I know. But no one else is going to get hurt. Not if I have a say anyway" he assured her.

* * *

Later that day, Jack tried to make his way to the beach as stealthily as possible. He heard from a reliable source (Shannon) that Kate had let exhaustion overcome her and she was taking a nap in her old tent. Jack knew that Sawyer was his best bet when it came to confronting Ethan. Actually, he knew that Kate was. But there was no way in hell that he was letting her come with them into that dangerous situation. He made his way to Sawyer's tent without any interruption from Kate so he took it to mean that she was in fact asleep. He had just started talking to Sawyer when he saw Kate approach. Cursing under his breath, he knew that there was no way he was getting out of her hearing what he had to say, but there was also no way in hell he was letting her come.

"Help? Moi?" Sawyer was asking as Kate approached them.

"You know how to handle a gun, or not?" asked Jack as he rolled his eyes.

"Well, I know at least one polar bear that seems to think so" Sawyer said as Jack reluctantly handed him a gun. "Where'd you get the hardware, Hoss?" Sawyer asked.

Jack ignored him and just looked at Kate, already forming the excuses why she couldn't come in his head.

"I want to come" she told him straight out.

"Sorry, we're out of guns. And no one goes out there unarmed" he told her, knowing that was the end of that.

He started to walk away, trying to ignore her hurt look, when Sawyer called after him.

"How much ammo you got?" he asked.

"100 rounds give or take" Jack said as he turned around and started to walk slightly back, still avoiding Kate's eyes.

"All 9's, right?" Sawyer asked, rolling his eyes and clarifying by saying "9 millimeters – guns"

"Yeah, why?" asked Jack.

He had become distracted when he peeked at Kate. She looked so hurt that he wanted to crawl up into a little ball and he couldn't focus on anything, let alone anything Sawyer had to say.

"Because if the lady wants to come. . ." Sawyer started as he removed a gun from his tent. "Lifted this off the Marshal back in the old days. Remember him, don't you? Surly guy, kind of square of jaw, carries a Sig 9" said Sawyer as he handed the gun to Kate who shot Jack a look that said 'please don't be mad' before taking it from Sawyer.

"Yeah, I remember you shot him. And missed" said Jack as he seethed.

He knew it was a low blow but he was furious at Sawyer. Didn't he get it? Kate couldn't go out there. She could get hurt and Jack promised her he would protect her. If Sawyer supposedly cared so much about her, why would he do that?

"Yeah, well, bygones. And hell, 5 guns are better than 4" said Sawyer with a smirk.

Jack looked at Kate, the hurt apparent in his eyes. He didn't say anything but instead turned around and walked back towards Sayid and Locke. Kate looked at her feet, wondering if she made the right decision. The truth was, her need to protect Jack was just as great as his need to protect her. She kept remembering the image of him lying there after Ethan supposedly beat him and she knew she couldn't go through that again. She needed to make sure he was alright. Kate brushed her hair back behind her ears, tucked the gun into her pants, and followed after him, trying not to notice the tense set of his shoulders and the slight sag in his step.

* * *

Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, and Sayid hid in the trees as the rain beat down, all of them with their eyes centered on their bait, Claire. Jack and Kate occasionally stole glances at the general direction of each other, though they were unsure of exactly where the other was hiding. All the sudden, Claire let out a scream and Jack charged out of the bushes, tackling Ethan to the ground before he could grab the frightened girl. Ethan got a few good punches but Jack was holding his own. Ethan grabbed his neck but Jack beat him back. He wasn't going to let this bastard hurt anyone he cared about ever again. He was doing this to protect Kate and he wouldn't stop until Ethan was finished. Besides, he would show Locke that Ethan wouldn't "best him physically" again. Jack managed to beat Ethan down but he didn't let up in his punches and kicks. The bastard was going to pay. Kate came running into the clearing with Sawyer on her tail. She gasped when she saw Jack and Ethan wrestling and she wanted desperately to help Jack. She winced when Jack took a punch but she saw that he had the upper hand and eventually Jack had Ethan down on the ground, completely helpless.

Kate breathed a sigh of relief and went to hug the trembling Claire and calm her down as Jack and the others interrogated Ethan. Sawyer, Locke, and Sayid each had their guns trained on Ethan. Kate noticed that Jack must have lost his somewhere along the way and he stood there, breathing heavily, looking at Ethan with disgust. But before Ethan could say a word, shots rang out and everyone jumped in surprise. Ethan fell back, dead, into the mud pile as Jack yelled Charlie's name. Kate followed her boyfriend's gaze and saw that he was staring at Charlie who was holding a gun in his hand, complete rage on his face.

As everyone sorted out the confusion and chaos, Kate ran to Jack. He opened his arms wide for her and she jumped into them, holding him tight. Jack pulled her even closer to him and buried his face in her hair. For a second, he forgot about his anger over the fact that they wouldn't get any answers from Ethan. Instead, he was focused on the fact that Kate was ok. She pulled back from him slightly and traced the start of a few bruises that were forming on his face.

"Are you ok?" she asked, trying to keep her tears at bay.

"I'm fine" he assured her. "Just a bit sore. Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm perfectly ok" she promised him and went back to burying her face in his chest as he held her close.

Jack couldn't believe he had gone into this annoyed with her. If something had happened to either of them… he didn't even want to think about it. He just wanted to hold his girlfriend closer and never let go of her.

* * *

Later that day, back at the caves, Jack approached Charlie as he sat on a log, glaring at the trees around him. It was so tempting to just yell at him for what he did, but Jack found himself unable to. The worst part was, he understood why Charlie did what he did. But still, he had to ask. As Charlie explained to him how he couldn't let "that animal" near his girl ever again, Jack emphasized completely. He would kill anyone who ever hurt Kate so he knew why Charlie killed Ethan. He knew that Charlie couldn't let it go and that Claire was his to protect. He and Charlie sat in silence for a moment before he was interrupted by Kate coming over.

"We need to take care of those bruises" she told him softly.

Jack nodded and patted Charlie on the shoulder before getting up and following her over to the rocks by the waterfall. She took a moist towel and started dabbing at his swollen face.

"How does it look?" he asked her.

"It's a little swollen, but you'll live" she told him somberly. "Does anything else hurt?"

"My ribs are a little sore" he confessed. "But they're just a bit bruised up, nothing serious. Nothing to worry about."

"I guess" she told him with a deep sigh.

"Hey, I'm the doctor here, remember" he told her good naturedly as he stroked her cheek with his hand.

"Now you're the patient" she told him as she lifted up his shirt and discarded it, holding another towel to his black and blue torso. "You could have really gotten hurt out there Jack" she reprimanded him.

"I know" he told her. "But I didn't. There's nothing to worry about Kate. We're safe now" he promised her.

"Jack, if anything ever happened to you…" she started.

"It won't" he assured her but she didn't look convinced. "It won't" he said more forcefully, looking straight in to her eyes. "Kate, I promised you I would take care of you and keep you safe and that is what I'm doing."

"You need to keep yourself safe too" she protested.

"I know, and I will" he told her. "But my first priority will always be you and your safety. Kate, I was so scared when Sawyer handed you that gun and I knew you'd be out there too."

"How do you think I felt, knowing you were hunting and tackling a mad man? I kept thinking about when I found you lying on the ground after you fell off that cliff. And I kept thinking about when the caves collapsed and you were trapped in there. Jack, I need you and I couldn't go on if I lost you" she confessed as her tears fell quickly and she was unable to prevent them.

"Shh" he said softly as he pulled her into his arms and wiped at her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "Nothing is going to happen. We are both going to survive. And we're going to get off this island, and I will keep you safe…" he started but she interrupted with her protests. "I will. Keep. You. Safe" he repeated slowly and more assertively. "You and I are going to be together forever" he assured her.

"I wish it was as easy as you make it seem" she told him as her tears lightened up.

"It will be. It has to be" Jack said as he pulled her tightly to his chest and held her close, looking up at the stars above them.

* * *

Next Chapter: Outlaws. Kate wants that last gun back from Sawyer… what lengths will she go through to get it back from him? Remember that "I never" scene? How's Kate's relationship with Jack going to figure in to all that…

If I keep getting great reviews, I'll definitely post it by next week. It's all written and ready to go. It's just up to you guys… not to beg or anything of course. :)


	10. Outlaws

**A/N: Sorry this took me so long to post. My life's a little crazy right now. I don't want to guarantee that I'll be able to update too soon again but I'm trying. If I get ten or more reviews though, I promise to do everything in my power to update again****, probably by late Thursday night or Friday (I'm traveling all day Thursday and I don't know if I'm going to ****be able to get to a computer.) So remember, review and let me know what you think.**

Tia- Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you liked it.

hybridwolf10- I'm glad I've got a new reader, and I'm happy that you like it. Keep reading/reviewing!

Philadelphia- I like when people take care of Jack. I kinda just wanna give him a hug sometimes. That's sort of why I started writing this. Thanks for taking the time to review.

Hellmouth21- I'd like to be in Damon and JJ's seats too. I'd be making a lot of money AND I'd know what the hell is going on at that island. Let me know if you figure out a way for me to swap places with one of them :)

HeatherUTSA2003- thanks for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it.

Elle- Thanks, I'm glad you like it so much. Keep reading and reviewing!

lostgemini687- they are most definitely meant to be together. And thanks for the review and the compliment.

kcdancer- thank you for taking the time to read and review my story. I'm glad you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 10****: Outlaws**

"You wanna come hide the guns with me?" Jack asked Kate the afternoon following Ethan's death.

Kate had nodded and accepted the hand he had extended to her. He helped pull her off the rock she was sitting on by the waterfall and the two hiked deep into the jungle, finding the rock under which the silver case was hidden.

Jack put away the three guns he had with him and then Kate handed him hers.

"Thanks for the loaner" she told him.

"Always a pleasure" he answered with a smirk and she knew that he wasn't mad at her anymore for taking the gun.

"So, was anyone curious where they came from?" she asked nervously, her eyes on the ground.

Jack's heart broke a bit when he saw how nervous she was. He hadn't even thought about how it might have affected her to hand the guns out and how it might have made her self-conscious.

"The others knew there was a Marshal on the plane. I guess they just assumed he was traveling alone, protecting them from terrorists. Sounds like a good theory to me" he told her as he lightly touched her shoulder and smiled at her, pleased to see that she smiled back.

"Did you get all the guns back?" she asked him, her spirits uplifted a bit.

"All except one" he told her.

"Who?" Kate asked.

"Let me give you 3 guesses" he said as they started to walk back to camp.

"Sawyer" she said with a shake of her head. "I can get it back" she said quickly without thinking about how Jack would react to that.

"Really? How are you going to do that?" he asked skeptically, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

He didn't need to hear any more about how Kate and Sawyer had a connection. He preferred to think of the two of them as completely separate. In fact, he preferred to think of them as living on two different planes of existence.

"I speak his language" she answered simply.

"You've done this before, Kate" he said, his fists clenched. "And if I remember it right, you almost made out with him, and he never even had what you said you could get"

"Well, I only almost made out with him because torturing him didn't work" she snapped back, but the smile on her face let him know that she was being good-natured.

"Let him keep the gun" Jack told her as he returned her smile and took her hand. "It's not worth it."

"What, are you afraid he's going to shoot me if I ask?" she said as she looked up at him.

"I just don't want you to owe him anything" he told her. "Let's just drop this" he said as they made their way back to the caves.

"Alright" she agreed, seeing how he was getting upset.

Of course, Kate wasn't really planning on dropping it. She just had to find another way to get that gun back from Sawyer.

* * *

After speaking with Sawyer, Kate knew how she was going to be able to get the gun back. She also knew that Jack wasn't going to like it very much. It was going to take a little lying, a little cheating, and just a little manipulation. But it was something Kate was prepared to do. She needed to prove that she could take care of herself.

As she approached the sun-bathing Shannon, Kate put on her best begging face.

"You want something" Shannon said immediately as Kate walked over.

"Am I that obvious?" Kate asked, a frown replacing her puppy dog eyes.

""No, you were actually pretty subtle. But asking for things is my specialty. I could smell the desperation from a mile away" said Shannon with a smile and Kate returned the smile. "So, what can I do for you?" asked Shannon as she sat up and put her sunglasses on top of her head.

"I need to do something that'll probably go on from tonight until tomorrow. And I don't want Jack knowing where I am, so…"

"…So you want me to lie to your boyfriend about your whereabouts"

"Something like that" said Kate as she picked at her nails.

"Done. Is there a specific lie you'd like or should I just make something up?" asked Shannon.

"Wait, that's it? You'll do it?" asked Kate incredulously.

"Yeah, of course. That's what girls do for each other. Don't get me wrong Kate; this island's got slim pickings. Back in the real world, I doubt there'd be a long lasting friendship to be made between us. But here, you're the closest thing I've got to a 'girlfriend'" she said as she made air quotes. "So, any specific story?"

"Ummm…" Kate shrugged as she was at a loss for words.

"Bonding" Shannon said simply.

"Bonding?" Kate asked, still not understanding the blonde before her.

"You and I are bonding. We both need a friend on this god forsaken island so you and I are having… a slumber party… to better get to know each other" Shannon explained.

"A 'slumber party'?" asked Kate, using Shannon's air quotes. "What are we, 14?"

"Do you have a better idea?" asked Shannon. "Men will believe anything if you say it with the right flair"

"Alright, fine" Kate acquiesced. "But you and your flair better stay far away from my boyfriend" she mumbled under her breath.

"I heard that. And don't worry. My doctor stage has long since passed. I've moved on to a different breed of men" Shannon assured her.

"Like soldiers?" asked Kate as she raised one eyebrow.

"I don't think we've bonded enough to talk about this" snapped Shannon as she pushed her sunglasses back down on to her face.

"Got it" said Kate, her hands raised in a defensive position.

"I'll take care of Jack. You go do whatever it is you have to do. What do you have to do anyway?" asked Shannon, her curiosity piqued.

"Thanks a lot, Shannon. Bye!" called Kate over her shoulder as she ran off.

"Whatever" said Shannon with a roll of her eyes as she lied back down on her towel.

* * *

After convincing Sawyer that he couldn't track a boar on his own, Kate accompanied him into the jungle. Night had fallen and she began to feel guilty about lying to Jack. She hoped that Shannon had been able to convince him that she was spending the night trying to make a girlfriend. Sawyer pulled out the little bottles of alcohol and Kate's eyes narrowed.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked as she looked at the mini bottle of vodka.

"Plane" he answered simply.

"Jack was looking for the liquor cart" she told him.

"It's a good thing I found it instead, then, huh?" he told her with a smirk.

"Got any more of those?" she asked after a brief moment of hesitation.

The more drunk the two got, the more secrets were revealed in their little game of "I never."

"I never cared about having carte blanche because I just wanted to spend some time with the only other person on this island that just don't belong" Sawyer said.

He shook his head when he saw that she wasn't drinking.

"Sassafras, you seem to be forgetting the rules of the game" he chided.

"Don't flatter yourself Sawyer" Kate told him. "I'm not out here for you, or for me. I'm here for Jack"

"What's the doc got anything to do with this?" asked Sawyer.

"Sawyer, I feel like I belong with Jack. He makes me feel safe and protected. I'm moving on with my life. I'm trying to turn it all around" she stressed.

"Spending the night out in a jungle of mysteries with a man who's not your boyfriend doesn't seem like a favor to the doc to me. You can fool yourself all you want Freckles. But you can't fool me. You'll never change. What does Jackass think of your night out with me anyway?" asked Sawyer.

"I never carried a letter around for 20 years because I couldn't get over my baggage" Kate said harshly, gritting her teeth and trying to ignore what Sawyer was saying.

Sawyer shook his head and lifted the little bottle of alcohol to his lips, taking a swig. He looked genuinely hurt by her words and for a brief moment she regretted it. But then he changed it all with his next challenge.

"I never killed a man" he said, watching her through narrowed eyes.

Kate hesitated for a moment, her eyes looking towards the ground and despair clenching at her heart before taking a drink. Sawyer looked sad and hurt too, his eyes focused downward in a mirror image of hers. After a long moment, he too took a drink. Kate wasn't surprised. She was almost comforted by the fact that she wasn't the only murderer on the island.

"Well, looks like we got something in common, after all" he said sadly.

Kate didn't say a word, but rather she continued to look down at the ground, a million thoughts running through her head.

* * *

"Jack!" Shannon called out as she saw him by the caves.

Jack turned around with a sigh. He didn't feel like being the one to fix everyone's problems right now. Presently, he was concerned with locating Kate who had apparently gone missing.

"What is it Shannon?" he asked reluctantly and was surprised to see Sayid coming towards them out of the corner of his eye.

"Kate just wanted me to tell you something. I had to come up here to fill a water bottle anyway, so I told her I'd let you know" she said as she raised an empty water bottle as proof.

"What is it?" asked Jack, slightly apprehensively.

"She and I have decided we were going to spend the night together. Do girly things. You know, like a slumber party" said Shannon with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Girly things?" asked Jack skeptically.

"Yes. Girly things" said Shannon as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Kate's a girl too"

"Yes, I'm aware of that" said Jack as he started to lose his patience. "So you two are having… a slumber party…" he said slowly.

"Precisely. See you tomorrow. Goodnight Sayid" said Shannon as she walked off, waving to Sayid who was at Jack's side.

"A slumber party?" asked Jack incredulously as he turned to Sayid once Shannon was out of earshot.

"Do not ask me to understand women" Sayid told him. "Particularly, that one" he said as he pointed to Shannon as she filled her water bottle.

"What do you think they're going to talk about?" asked Jack, still confused.

"Most probably us" said Sayid with a sigh. "Expect some giggling over the next few days."

"Giggling? From Kate?" asked Jack, still horribly confused. "She's been corrupted" cried Jack as he came to the realization.

"Indeed" said Sayid with another sigh. "Come. We should get you some water" Sayid told Jack as he steered him over to the waterfall.

Shannon smiled to herself as she saw the reactions of Jack and Sayid. They had both fallen for it. She was glad she had done this little favor for Kate. Not only had she done what Kate asked her and made a quasi-friend, but she had also gotten Sayid thinking about her.

"I've still got it" she whispered to herself as she started the walk back to the beach, a bounce in her step.

* * *

After sitting in silence for a while, Sawyer finally turned to Kate.

"Is Jack the man that you love?" he asked her.

"What?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"You scoffed at me when I said I had never been in love. You seemed to think being in love was the most natural thing in the world"

"It is" she insisted.

"Well alright then. Is Jack the man that you love?" he persisted.

"It's really none of your business. I'm going to bed" Kate told him, rolling her eyes at him and using her sweatshirt as a pillow as she lied down.

"Now, now Freckles. There's no need to get so annoyed. It was just a question. A pretty easy one too. Either you love the man, or you don't" Sawyer told her.

"Goodnight" Kate said shortly and she rolled over so her back was to him.

"Fine, fine" said Sawyer, as he too lied down and tried to get some sleep.

All was quiet for the next hour, and neither a word was passed between Kate and Sawyer. Finally, the silence was broken by a small sound from Kate.

"Yes" she whispered.

Sawyer had been breathing deeply to try and convince Kate that he was asleep. But he was wide awake and when he heard her whispered yes, he closed his eyes and took a deeper breath.

* * *

The next day, after finding his boar and sparing its life, Sawyer went on a search for Jack. He found him in a clearing, chopping wood. Leave it to Doctor Jack to spend every spare moment doing something for the group.

After they spoke for a few moments and Sawyer realized that he had met Jack's father in a bar before, he walked off, trying to get the memories from his mind. Jack however, couldn't get the memory of the night before out of his mind. Shannon had come to him and told him that Kate was spending the night with her. But Jack now knew that was a lie. She had spent the night with Sawyer and had done something to get that gun from him. Swinging the axe angrily, he left it where it landed in the middle of the log and stalked off towards the beach, determined to find Kate.

* * *

He found her at the beach, packing things up in her tent.

"Hi" she said with a bright smile. "I thought I'd move the rest of my things to the caves."

Jack didn't say anything. Instead, he held the gun Sawyer had given him up so that she could see it.

"Sawyer gave you the last gun back?" she asked. "That's great."

"Is it Kate?" he asked harshly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Look, Sawyer said you gave him something and that's why he gave you back the gun. I told you to just leave it alone" he said angrily.

"Jack, I got the gun back, and I didn't have to do much of anything. I helped him track the boar that got to his stuff. That's it. Nothing else happened" she said as she took a step closer to him and rested her hand on his arm.

"Nothing else happened? You just tracked a boar?" he asked, relaxing a bit.

"Nothing else happened" she assured him as she lifted her hand to his cheek.

"Alright. I believe you" he said reluctantly as he loosened his tense body and relaxed into her touch. "That guy drives me crazy though."

"I know. Don't let him get to you" she told him.

"He was asking me about my father" Jack confessed.

"Your father?" Kate asked. "I wouldn't worry about it. He was just trying to get a rise out of you."

"You're probably right" he agreed. "Here, let me help you move your stuff" he told her as the two packed up her tent.

As they worked, Kate watched Jack. Would he ever understand what she did? Could she ever tell him? Kate hadn't lied last night when she said that she loved him. She just hoped that he felt the same way. But she couldn't tell him. She was terrified of pushing him away.

* * *

**Next Chapter: ****…In Translation: **after the raft mysteriously catches on fire, Jack and Kate find themselves dealing with some old issues that are being dredged up. Can they ever really get over them? 


	11. In Translation

Sorry about taking so long to update. It was a hectic end of the semester but I'm proud to announce I made it out alive. Now that it's summer (even if it doesn't feel like it) I can update a lot more. Thanks for being so patient and thanks to everyone who's stayed with me and my story throughout it all.

hybridwolf10- Sorry it took so long to update. I love Shannon so I try to bring her in as much as possible. I'm glad you liked it and thanks for the review.

Philadelphia- You are never too old to have a slumber party :). Or a pretend slumber party in their case. Nothing beats staying up all night hanging out with your friends. Thanks for reviewing.

kcdancer- thanks for the vote of confidence, lol. I'm glad you liked it.

Hellmouth21- Shannon is my favorite character. I'm still convinced that she is coming back eventually. It would make my year.

Rick- Thanks for the compliments. I'm glad you like the story and I hope you continue to read and review.

Cassie- Sorry it took so long, thanks for reviewing.

Ella Jullian- I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for taking the time to review.

lostgemini687- I love Jate angst. It keeps it interesting. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

truestar92- I'm glad you like it so much. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. It was your review that gave me that push to update now that I have the time. It reminded me that I was due to update this story!

* * *

**Chapter 11- …In Translation**

"You've got fish on your face" Jack told Kate with a smile as he looked up at her.

"Yuck, do I really?" she asked him, returning his smile.

He took the towel that was next to them and gently wiped it away.

"There, all better" he told her.

"Nothing says romance like fish gutting" said Kate as she crinkled up her nose and looked at the task before her.

"Alright, I admit, this is kinda disgusting but…" Jack started but he was interrupted by yelling in Korean. "There they go again" said Jack with a sigh as he looked up and saw Jin rushing at Sun, trying to cover up.

"Do you think we should do something?" asked Claire as she and Charlie walked up.

"What should we do?" asked Charlie.

"What's going on?" asked Michael as he came up to them.

"I don't know, he just walked up and started going off on her again" Kate said as she motioned with a dead fish. "Don't you ever think you could get away with that" said Kate as she playfully pointed the knife she was using at Jack.

"Wouldn't even try" he said as he held his hands up in surrender.

"What's he doing?" asked Charlie as Michael got involved between Sun and Jin and ended up getting slapped by Sun.

"Why did they even get married?" asked Claire as Charlie shook his head and walked off with her.

"Michael should just stick to his raft building" Jack told Kate as he too shook his head.

"Speaking of the raft… how's that going?" she asked him.

"It's going. I've been hearing talk though" he confessed.

"Talk? About what?"

"About who's getting off this island on that thing. People are getting desperate to leave."

"Well, hopefully they'll find land and get help" Kate said, but Jack could tell she didn't really mean that.

"Remember, once we're off of here, I'm going to keep you safe" he told her.

"I know" she said as she threw her last fish in the bucket.

"All done?" he asked her.

"Yes, thank god. I smell so bad" she said as she took a whiff of her hands.

Jack laughed at the look of disgust on her face.

"Do mine smell?" he asked, holding his hand to her face.

"Oh my god, that is so gross" she said as she laughed and tried to back off, swatting his hands away.

He laughed too and grabbed her up in his arms.

"JACK! What are you doing?" she screeched as he carried her towards the ocean.

"I'm getting rid of this foul smell" he told her as he tried to drop her in the ocean but she held on tight.

* * *

Their fish abandoned, Jack and Kate splashed at each other in the ocean for a bit. They were glad to be acting happy and normal and both were able to forget that the weight of the world was on their shoulders for once.

"We should go dry off" Jack told her later as they were both lying on the beach, exhausted but content.

"Yeah, we probably should. I feel like we were slacking off today" Kate told him as she turned her head so she could look at him.

"Yeah, me too. We did gut all those fish though…"

"I know, I know" she said as he started to tickle her. "Jack! Seriously" she said, still laughing as she pulled away.

"Alright, I'll go talk to Michael about the raft" Jack told her.

"And I'll talk to Sun" said Kate.

"Talk to Sun? That's not going to get you too far. She doesn't even speak English, Kate."

"We communicate" Kate told him. "We've learned how after working in the garden together" she said as she felt bad for lying to him again.

"Alright" Jack told her with a smile. "I'll go find Michael. I'll see you tonight" he told her.

"Sounds good" she said as they both rose from the sand, brushing themselves off.

Kate brushed her lips quickly against Jack's before starting towards the caves on her search for Sun. Jack watched her she left and he waited until she was completely out of view before setting off to find Michael.

* * *

It took Kate the rest of the afternoon to locate Sun. The two snuck into Sun's tent away from prying ears so that Sun could speak English freely. It was dark by the time the two started talking about Jin. Kate couldn't understand why Sun would want to be with a man like that. Sure, Kate had her fair share of rotten men, but now that she had Jack she couldn't even imagine being with a man who didn't worship her like he did. Sun was in the mists of explaining about how Jin was in fact a good man when they heard yelling.

Jack meanwhile had been looking for his girlfriend as the night fell. After hearing from Claire that she had seen Kate go into Sun's tent, he headed across the beach and towards them. As he was walking, he smelled something burning. His head shot up as he realized the raft was on fire. He started throwing sand on it and didn't even realize as others joined to help put out the fire, including Kate. His attention was drawn to her though as Michael started yelling at Sun. Kate seemed to be protecting her friend, standing in front of her and yelling at Michael to back off. 

Jack held back for a second, knowing that she could take care of herself, but he readied himself to step in if necessary.

"She doesn't understand you, man" he told Michael, yelling over the flames.

Michael ignored him and continued to advance on Sun, accusing her of protecting her husband.

"She was with me" Kate said as she defended one of her only friends.

Michael was distracted by Walt as he tried to help put out the fire and Sun used it as her opportunity to run away.

"Sun, wait" Kate cried but it was too late.

"I'm going to break his damn neck" Michael growled as he started to follow Sun.

Kate stood in his way and Michael started advancing on her. Jack decided that now was the time to get involved and he stepped in front of Kate, blocking Michael from her. The man was furious and Jack wasn't sure what he would do, and he didn't want to find out.

"Take it easy, man. We don't know that Jin did this" Jack said as he held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Oh, you're serious?" snorted Sawyer with a roll of his eyes.

"Sawyer, shut up" growled Jack, his patience wearing thin.

He didn't feel like dealing with Sawyer and Michael at the same time.

"Jack, c'mon we saw him on the beach this morning" inserted Charlie, and Jack looked around as he realized that he had little support.

"That doesn't mean that he torched the raft" Jack maintained and he felt Kate put her small hand on his shoulder as a way of offering her support.

"Yeah, then who did, Jack?" asked Michael, his eyes narrowing.

Breathing heavily, Jack realized that he was speechless.

"Look, yelling at each other is getting us no where" said Kate as she stepped out from behind Jack. "Let's just put out this fire and then figure out what to do next" she told the group as she slipped her hands into his.

Jack was surprised when he saw that people started to do what she said, but he was grateful all the same. He squeezed her hand in a silent thanks before dropping it so he could help to stop the flames that were licking at the remains of Michael's raft. It seemed like everything was just 

continuously unraveling. He was afraid that if Michael found Jin he really would kill him. And based on the furious look on Sawyer's face, Jack was sure that he would help in Jin's murder too. He just needed to sort everything out.

Kate held back for a moment as everyone started to pick up handfuls of sand and throw them at the flames. She watched Jack work with a sigh. She was ashamed to admit that she initially felt relief when she saw that someone had torched the raft. Without it, they wouldn't get off the island. Part of her never wanted to leave. She wanted to stay there with Jack forever. Breaking her gaze from Jack's strong arms and determined looking face, she started to help with the fire fighting. But her thoughts continued to wander.

* * *

The next day, Jin was nowhere to be found and the entire camp was on edge. Midafternoon, shouts were heard from the beach and the survivors, including Jack and Kate, all rushed to see what the fuss was about. Jack arrived just in time to see Sawyer throw Jin into the sand and then untie his hands as Michael rushed towards them.

"Michael! Take it easy" Jack said as he got in between Jin and Michael.

Michael continued to yell at Jin and kept trying to get to him. Jack was grateful when Hurley came to his aid and helped him try to keep Michael back.

"Just calm down. Calm down and take a breath" Jack said, desperate to avoid the imminent fight.

The crowd was growing and Michael continued to yell at Jin as Jack continued to hold him back.

"Back off, Jack. It's got nothing to do with you" Sawyer yelled and Jack saw red.

"Shut it!" Jack yelled as he threw a hand up in Sawyer's direction.

He would have loved to throw a punch at Sawyer (again) but he knew it would just be counterproductive.

"Look, everybody chill out" Hurley pleaded as the others got involved and started yelling at each other too.

Jin said something in Korean and Michael got defensive.

"He said something to me?" Michael repeatedly demanded as Jack tried hard to calm him down.

Finally, Michael rushed past him and punched Jin hard. Jack tried to grab Michael but he was swatted away before Sawyer grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Hey!" he yelled in anger, almost losing it and nearly hitting Sawyer as he lost his patience.

"Easy, Doc. One fight at a time" Sawyer drawled and Jack glared at him.

"He's right. This is between them" Sayid said softly to Jack, stopping him from saying anything else.

Since Jack trusted Sayid, he backed off and watched as Jin was repeatedly knocked to the ground with Michael's punches. He looked across the group and he found Kate. She looked away as Jin got hit and Jack sucked in a breath. He felt like a failure because he was unable to prevent it from coming to this. He started looking down at the ground but Kate caught his eye. He looked deep into her eyes and saw that she trusted him and believed in him. It instantly made him feel better and he nodded at her as a way of showing her he was fine.

Michael reached up his hand and was about to punch Jin again when Sun suddenly yelled for him to stop.

"He didn't burn your raft" she said in perfect English and everyone gasped.

Jack was shocked as he realized Sun was speaking English but a quick look in Kate's direction told him she wasn't. He shook his head as he suddenly realized why Kate seemed so sure she could communicate with Sun. He couldn't believe she didn't tell him.

"You speak English?" Charlie asked Sun, breaking Jack from his thoughts.

"Didn't see that coming" Hurley said with wide eyes.

"You understood us? All this time? Why didn't you say anything?" Jack finally asked Sun, shaking his head.

"Your raft, it was already on fire when he arrived. He burned his hands trying to put it out." Sun told Michael, ignoring everyone's questions.

"Then why did he run?" asked Michael. "Exactly, that's what I thought" Michael told her as Jin didn't respond to the question in Korean that she asked.

"My husband is many things. But he is not a liar" Sun maintained.

"You're going to lecture us about lying, Betty? From the look on his face, even your old man here didn't know you speak English. How do we know she's not covering for him?" asked Sawyer.

Jack was annoyed that Sawyer would attack Sun like that but he could tell that Kate was even angrier. She was about to verbally attack Sawyer when she was cut off by Locke who emerged from the jungle.

As Locke calmed Michael, Sawyer, and the rest of the crowd with a speech about how the real enemy was whoever was there on the island with them, not the castaways, Jack continued to stare at Kate. He was so distracted that he forgot to be bothered about the fact that it was Locke who calmed them down. Locke was right though, why would anyone burn the raft? Everyone wanted to get off the island. But Jack knew one person who didn't.

* * *

That night, everything had pretty much calmed down. Jack was back at the caves with Kate who informed him that Jin wasn't speaking to Sun.

"You knew she spoke English the whole time, didn't you?" asked Jack.

"Please don't be mad" she begged him as she took his hands in her own. "She made me promise not to tell anyone, including you. I was just trying to protect my friend. I'm sorry" she pleaded with him, her eyes growing large as she looked up at him.

"Its fine" he said with a sigh, his thoughts elsewhere. "Look… Kate" he started nervously.

"What is it?" she asked him, one hand reaching up to cup his face.

"I know I'm going to regret even asking this…" he said as he trailed off and took a deep breath, "but… what Locke said… about who would burn the raft and about getting off of this island…" he said shakily.

Kate dropped her hands from his face and backed off with wide eyes, her face frozen with horror.

"You don't actually think I torched the raft, do you?" she asked in a small voice.

"No, I don't think anything" he told her as he raised his hands in surrender. "But I need to ask. Please Kate. I'm not accusing you of anything. I just… I need to know."

"If you knew me at all you'd know I could never do something like that" she snapped as she took off from the cave, leaving him behind.

She started to run off but she realized she was so sick of running. Instead, she wrapped her arms around herself and sat down in front of one of the roaring fires. She stared at the flames as her tears burned in her eyes. She felt so betrayed. How could Jack ever think she could do something like that? Well, she could understand why. She didn't have the best track record when it came to telling him the truth. She even lied to him about Sun. But still, it hurt that he would accuse her of such a thing. He was the one person she could depend on and she just wanted it all to be blank with him. She didn't want him knowing what she was capable of. She just wanted his complete trust. She knew it was something that would have to be earned but it didn't make her any less mad. She continued to stare at the flames and with a sigh, she thought of her track record with fire. She started to cry a little harder at that. Of all the things Jack had to accuse her of. But her sadness was rapidly turning into anger, and it was all directed at Jack. She was fuming. She ripped her gaze away from the flames and instead looked towards the cave she had just run from. She glared at it for a moment before turning her head back to the fire. As she did, her jaw dropped. Across the fire pit, locked lip to lip, was Shannon and Sayid. Kate's own lips curved into a smile despite her best efforts and she shook her head a bit. The American Princess and the Iraqi Soldier. Who would have ever guessed? Kate softened as she watched them. Maybe love could conquer all.

* * *

Jack watched her go but he didn't stop her. He really didn't think she did it but he couldn't get it out of his head. He knew he wouldn't be able to put his thoughts to rest until he asked her. He let out a sad sigh and hung his head. He hated that he hurt her. He could feel her pain as though it was his own. He felt like he betrayed her and he knew that he had. What kind of boyfriend was he? How could he ever accuse her of something so terrible? He tried to justify it in his head. He told himself that it wasn't an accusation- it was just an innocent question. But if that was all it was, why did he feel so guilty? He kicked at a rock on the floor. He hated himself at the moment. If anyone else had accused Kate of something like that, he would have attacked them. Yet here he was, doing the accusing and hurting her. He knew that he was wrong and he decided he was going to do something about it. Picking his head up, he left the cave in search of her. He didn't have to look too far as he found her sitting on a log by the fire. He swallowed hard before walking over to Kate. Silently, he lowered himself to the log so he was sitting next to her. Neither made a move or said a word for a moment. Just as Jack was about to lay his hand on her leg, she surprised him by tilting her head to the side and laying it on his shoulder. He swallowed hard again before gently taking her hand in his.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, and she closed her eyes and let out a slight moan.

"I can't blame you. I would have suspected me as well" she said quietly.

"I didn't think you did it Kate. I just needed to know because I had the slightest suspicion" Jack whispered back.

"It's fine. I don't want to fight. There are more important things. Besides, it's not like I've given you a good reason to trust me when it comes to these kinds of things" she said with a sigh.

Jack turned and lifted her head off his shoulder, tipping her chin up so she could look into his eyes.

"Kate, I'd trust you with my life" he said in a serious tone.

Both were quiet again as they stared into each other's eyes. Kate tilted her head slightly to the side and Jack followed her tilt with his eyes and saw Shannon and Sayid together. He smiled and looked back at his girlfriend.

"Looks like they have the right idea" he said, the grin still on his face.

She grinned back at him as he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her deeply, pulling her close to him and vowing to never let her go.

* * *

Up Next: Numbers- When Hurley goes off into the jungle alone in search of Danielle, it's up to Jack and Sayid to get him back. But what happens when Kate wants to come too? And Jack and Kate are both focused on keeping the other safe…


End file.
